Consultants are telling Boise’s auditorium district that building a youth sports facility downtown could have a better economic return than simply expanding its convention space.
Earlier this year, the Greater Boise Auditorium District, which runs the Boise Centre, bought up to six acres of land south of downtown along River Street.
While the district outright purchased more than four acres, it’ll have to wait to exercise an option to purchase another 1.8 acre parcel across the street where Idaho Records Management currently operates.
Consultant John Fleming went over several scenarios for GBAD trustees last week. The district collects taxes from hotels and runs the Boise Centre to drive economic growth.
Those scenarios include building more convention and trade show space versus facilities for youth sports teams.
“Even though there’s some operating challenges associated with this – there’s a higher degree of complexity when you’re looking at a satellite facility and a primary facility – overall, it points to that as the best solution from our standpoint,” Fleming said.
Fleming’s report shows expanding event and conference space would likely bring in nearly identical revenue compared to adding sports facilities.
But he said diversifying the district’s offerings helps during economic downturns.
“We see sports tourism as one of the most resilient event markets. That’s one of the last places that belts get tightened – spending on kids,” said Fleming.
Trustees are still in the early planning phase of a potential buildout and are working on requests for proposals.
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