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