The Visit Mesa CEO, Marc Garcia, presented a plan in December, 2015 regarding a prosed sports complex. However, it seems Mesa won’t be pursuing the sports complex just yet. Arizonians will have to wait a while until a decision is reached regarding the high-tech sports complex.
The Sports Complex was supposed to be entered in the November ballot but members of the City Councils voted against it. The argument consisted of the proposed complex requiring further vetting. The complex has also received mixed reactions from the public ever since its reveal in December last year. The $54 million-plus proposed complex will have 24-fields, and is expected to have an annual economic impact of $98 million.
Garcia announced during the reveal that he expects to bring thousands of visitors to Mesa because of the complex. The anchor sport for the 8000 seat dual-stadium near Brown Road and Loop 22 was going to be soccer. The dimensions of the fields would also allow filed hockey, lacrosse, and rugby games to be played. The facility was proposed to include a press box, locker rooms, video technology to allow live streaming, and viewing towers. The design was influenced by feedback from more than 400 event right-holders, and 20 event producers from Arizona, the U.S. and Canada.
Early e-mails to the members of the City Council were largely supportive as for a lot of them the number of current local fields was insufficient. However, on June 20th they ended up deciding not to make the complex a part of the November ballot as it already included a proposed hike in sales-tax. The members feared that an additional ask would be rejected.
Mayor John Giles showed support for the project but said that the timing wasn’t right. He also told The Republic that he hoped the complex would be part of the next ballot as early as 2018.
As far Garcia is concerned he commented that Visit Mesa will always be determined to elevate Mesa’s brand.
After covering the $2.6 million operating cost, according to Elliott D. Pollack & Co., the city would be able to make more than $1.9 million every year through the complex.
What are your thoughts regarding the sports complex? Do you think Mesa voters should have been allowed to weigh in?
