A proposal for a two-story civic complex in St. George is moving forward, with a site plan unveiling new details about what will be a multimillion-dollar facility with a maximum capacity of 1,400 people.
The cityβs Zoning Commission is scheduled to vote Monday on the site plan for the complex, which would be off Airline Highway and Antioch Road, marking St. Georgeβs first tangible step toward constructing the project. Leaders envision the complex being used for a variety of events, from sports tournaments to school graduations, for the entire region.
The site plan details the size of the complex, a general construction timeline and also includes mock-ups of what the final project could look like on the outside. Construction could start as early as next year.
The plan proposes a two-story, 173,500-square-foot building with a second-floor mezzanine, 458 parking spaces and two access drives onto Antioch Road.
The number of parking spaces suggested is based on the preliminary design of 24 indoor courts β though it does not specify what type of courts β with a maximum capacity of 1,440 visitors per hour, according to the applicant.
βThe development will be constructed in one phase. Starting construction in 2027 and projected to finish by end of 2028,β the site plan states.
The site plan is preliminary, however, and its approval would not kick-start construction or bidding yet.
In a statement Friday, the city said a development cost estimate is not yet available.
How much could this cost
While price estimates might not be official yet, a national firm hired by the city mapped out the development costs for comparable complexes.
A generated mock-up of the future St. George civic center in its site plan.
Victus Advisors, a Utah-based company that works with cities building sports and event centers, conducted a feasibility study that said the most comparable Louisiana project to St. Georgeβs proposal is the West Monroe Sports and Events facility. It took around $22 million to build the 112,000-square-foot facility, which has eight basketball courts and flexible event space.
The study says the average cost to develop comparable complexes was about $33 million. The costs for roughly 100,000-square-foot to 200,000-square-foot complexes listed ranged from $20 million to $50 million.
St. George Mayor Dustin Yates, when asked if the city knows any projected costs, said in October, βWe do not have estimates yet, but I would say that we will be on par with some of the examples.β
Before the preliminary site plan was discussed, the City Council approved a new Economic Development District that will cover about 55 acres from seven separate tracts in the area. The district would support the sports facility and any development that will come along next to it.
An EDD is a specialized area that can promote economic growth, levy new sales and hotel occupancy taxes, and reinvest that revenue into projects in the district.
βRevenue generated by the EDD is expected to be an important component of the projectβs funding and help support future construction costs,β the city said in a statement Friday.
Yates has said he expects the EDD taxes to be levied starting in 2027. He also believes a few new businesses could begin breaking ground within the district by the end of next year.