Soccer Symposium Task Force Report

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Attachment B Just this summer, CASL obtained commitments from the City of Raleigh and Wake County for$5 million from the countywide motel and meals taxes to serve as seed money for the first phase of the State Capital Soccer Park in Cary. The league plans to build a 5,000-seat stadium, eight soccer fields, including six that meet international standards, a three-story field house, concession areas, restrooms, 2,000 parking spaces, and a cross-country course, at a cost of $14.5 million. The park will be constructed on a 131-acre state-owned site for which CASL secured a lease in March 1999. According to an economic impact analysis prepared by an assistant professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at N.C. State University, CASL projects the facility will attract 31 events each year, with a total paid attendance of 141,358. The report forecasts that 16,447 out-of-town visitors will stay overnight. CASL leaders contend they have a proven track record of attracting people to the Triangle and claim an annual economic impact of $18.7 million. Last year, according to CASL, 14,000 rooms were booked with people who attended league events and tournaments. Projecting Local Economic Impact To project the economic impact of a potential soccer complex in Orange County, the subcommittee took a conservative approach, assuming only three tournaments would be held annually. We looked at the impact for a four-field and eight-field complex, and assumed that some preliminary matches would be held on existing fields. With a four-field complex, 24 teams would be accommodated; an eight-field complex would accommodate 48 teams. We further assumed that each team would account for 40-50 participants and spectators (20 players and coaches and 20-30 family member spectators) and that the tournaments would last two days. Therefore, the total number of people projected to attend would be: With 4 Fields With 8 Fields @40/team 960 total 1,920 total @50/team 1,200 total 2,400 total The subcommittee used typical daily expenditure data for sporting-event tourists (supplied by the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau) of $125 per room night and $50 per day for day-trippers. Assuming that room nights equal one-half the total number of participants and spectators, the formula for economic impact would be: Direct Economic Impact = '/z Total number attending x $125 + '/z Total number attending x $50 x 2 days This results in the following projected direct economic impact, per tournament: With 4 Fields With 8 Fields @40/team $78,000 $156,000 @50/team $97,500 $195,000 Thus, total direct economic impact per year, assuming three tournaments, would range from a conservative $234,000 (4 fields @ 40 people/team) to $585,000 (8 fields @ 50 people/team).