Voting Tuesday to move forward with building a $15.2 million multi-sport complex at Shawnee Regional Park in Institute would give the Kanawha County Commission an opportunity to compete to host a soccer tournament there in 2019, an official said.
The commission is expected to vote on the proposed complex at its regular meeting Tuesday, likely before the results of chemical tests are returned and before a financial feasibility study about the project is completed.
Commissioner Ben Salango said the vote would be contingent on the chemical tests, financial feasibility and the commission's ability to get financing for the proposed complex.
"This project has been around since 2014," Salango said Friday. "It's time that we move forward on the project. By voting on the proposal on May 23 with certain contingencies, we will be able to start developing the operational structure of the complex and start putting in bids for tournaments in various sports, including the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Championship."
The multi-day soccer tournament, which was last held in Barboursville in 2015 and 2016, would bring 250-300 teams to the complex, Salango said.
Bids must be submitted by June 30 to host the tournament in 2019 and 2020, he said.
Barboursville also was selected to host the 2017 U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Presidents Cup, which will bring 120 boys and girls teams in June to battle it out for regional titles and berths to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup.
Salango said he estimated the six-day tournament would have a $12 million to $15 million per year economic impact in the community.
After the tournament in Barboursville, officials from the Cabell-Huntington Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated more than 10,000 visitors had made a $16 million economic impact, according to the Herald-Dispatch.
The county commission in March voted to pay ZMM Architects and Engineers between $40,000 and $70,000 for a feasibility study on the proposed complex. Salango said the site feasibility aspect of the project was done in a study the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau commissioned in 2015 by the National Association of Sports Commissions. ZMM is contracting with Pittsburgh-based Tripp Umbach for the financial part of the study, Salango said.
Salango said the commission will have an idea of the operational costs of the proposed facility, but a detailed report about the financial feasibility including projected operational revenue and expenses would be completed later.
Salango said Thursday he expects to have results of chemical tests at Shawnee within 30 days.
Dow announced recently that, in the wake of a lawsuit from nearby West Virginia State University, it would fund groundwater tests at the park. School officials allege decades of chemical manufacturing at the Institute plant contaminated the groundwater beneath the campus. School officials allege the chemicals don't pose a health risk because the school doesn't use the groundwater for drinking. The contamination instead threatens the school's development plans and reputation, the lawsuit says.
A statement from the company did not indicate what kinds of tests would be done or the timing of the tests.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said he expects that groundwater sampling will find some chemical contamination, but he would not commit to cleaning it up until he sees the sampling results and hears from the consultant that Dow is going to provide the funding.
"I would expect to find some form of contamination. It's not unusual to have that around a chemical plant," Carper told the Gazette-Mail previously. "I would have to see the report first and rely on the experts. I will exercise due diligence."
Salango said regardless of the vote Tuesday, the commission will not break ground on the project until the results of the chemical tests and financial feasibility are done. Having the vote Tuesday will allow officials to start working to get in contact with teams who might be interested in playing in tournaments at the sports complex, Salango said.
"If the financial feasibility study [is done] and it looks good and the chemical study is acceptable, then we could break ground in the fall," Salango said.
Before the vote Tuesday, the commission will have one more public hearing about the complex. From 1 to 4 p.m. in the county commission courtroom, 409 Virginia St., Charleston, the commission will "receive public input and comment regarding the proposed Shawnee Park Multi-Sport Complex," according to a notice from the commission. The commission meeting will begin at 5 p.m.
Reach Lori Kersey at
lori.kersey@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-1240 or follow
@LorikerseyWV on Twitter.