MARSHALL - If the proposed $12.9 million regional sports complex does become a reality in Marshall in the near future, the spring and fall of 2012 will surely be highlighted in the project's historical timeline. But that timeline, which stretches back to 2008, is already being tweaked on a local level.
The Southwest Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, which has received approval from the state Legislature to allow a vote for a local option one-half cent sales tax, has begun to make connections with myriad booster groups that will be relied upon to help communicate to Marshall residents the benefits of making the facility happen. And on Thursday, the SMASC will have a community discussion on the project to educate and answer questions concerning the project.
There are still many steps to be taken and everything hinges on what happens in November, but SMASC co-chairman Roger Madison is optimistic that between now and then this project will succeed.
"There are a number of reasons I am," Madison said. "As I've been talking about this the last three years and getting feedback, I've gotten very positive responses from a very broad group of people. Those who are on the board are business-related people looking at this as economic development, and then you look at the people that benefit the most - the parents, local people."
Besides the .5 percent local sales tax that would go to help cover capital construction costs for the sports facility and MERIT Center expansion, there will also be a 1.5 percent "hospitality tax" on sales of prepared food, beverages and lodging to help offset operating costs of the sports complex. The state approved that in 2010. Madison said one of the features of a local sales tax is taxpayers who will be paying into it are both in-town and out-of-town residents.
"When you look at the hospitality/beverage piece, that's where you see most of those dollars generated from people coming in from outside the community," he said. "If you look at hotels in Bloomington where they've got a 14 percent hospitality tax, if this is approved we're at 4.5 percent. It's a fair tax relative to the world we live in."
The city is requesting $4 million in state bonding dollars for the sports complex, a request that was denied in 2010. The complex would have two sheets of ice that could be converted for other sporting events, as well as soccer and softball fields.
Marshall's not the only city looking for bonding money from the state. The city of Moorhead is seeking $4 million for its Northwest Regional Sports Center and is listed as priority No. 1 on the Amateur Sports Commission's preliminary list of capital budget requests, just ahead of the Marshall project. The city of Blaine's request for $5.6 million for its National Youth Baseball Center is listed as priority No. 4.
The MASC designated Marshall a regional sports center in 2008. There are six others in Minnesota - in Moorhead, the Duluth Region, St. Cloud, Blaine, St. Paul, and Rochester. All but Moorhead and Blaine have a local sales tax, according to the SMASC.
Madison said aside from going before the Legislature with the same $4 million request next month, there is plenty of grassroots action that needs to be taken.
"We don't have everything answered today to be prepared for that vote tomorrow, but we have enough information to begin getting people engaged and understanding everything," Madison said.
Still, major questions remain, such as how much, if any, funding will the state provide and what role will the Schwan Food Co. play. Schwan owns the land near the intersection of Minnesota highways 23 and 19 where the proposed facility would be built, and Madison said the SMASC has been involved in discussions with Marshall's largest employer about its potential role as a corporate partner.
"We've been talking with Schwan's; they've been a great partner in conversations about how the land is developed," said Madison. "It comes down to what do we have to pay for that land. Nothing is finalized, but that's a place where they could be a significant help."
Madison's optimism also stems from the idea that the development of a facility like the proposed sports center would go a long way to improving the business and retail climate in Marshall and improve its economic base.
"For many years in this community we've talked about how do we move forward with retail demographics, to bring in a larger box retail store in some form, or add restaurants or add quality hotels," Madison said. "What this gives us the opportunity to do is flip that switch to get us a demographic that's a little bit better than what we have."
Local booster groups like the Marshall Area Youth Baseball Association, Marshall Area Hockey Association, Marshall Area Fine Arts Council, and Southwest School of Dance figure to be key players in the effort to educate the public about the project. Madison said that by April, enough information will be gathered for SMASC, the MERIT Center, and all the booster groups to do just that before preparing for a fall push that includes a calling campaign in October.
"That's when we'll be asking people if they are in favor or not, and we can estimate, based on history, what kind of number (of votes) we'll need. We'll connect with people until we're convinced we have enough support," he said.
Madison said one of the "uphill" battles the groups face is making sure voters understand that the proposed facility is about more than sports.
"We need to work through that and make sure people understand this is way broader than sports. It's clear we need to do that," he said.