KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A decision could be made in this coming year whether to stage an unusual election to decide if Kalamazoo County will get a new sports tournament center.
Discover Kalamazoo director Jane Ghosh says they are continuing preliminary planning for a new indoor facility that would house multiple basketball and volleyball courts. They are looking for a possible site, and exploring how it would be funded and operated.
She says their preferred method would be a 4% hike in the accommodations tax tacked onto hotel bills, if the hotel owners approve.
Ghosh says they say it could be managed by a sports authority, and they project it would be self-sustaining, even profitable after its second year of operation.
Ghosh says during the week, the courts could be used by local youth and sports teams for practice and games, which would be subsidized by income from weekend tournaments.
They project that such a facility could provide a $50-million annual boost to Kalamazoo County’s economy.
Ghosh says their studies of local hotel use by participants in hockey and figure skating competitions in Kalamazoo show that all hotels would benefit from this facility, wherever its located.
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