MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) – State Leaders met in Myrtle Beach earlier this month to discuss ways to improve on South Carolina’s $18 billion tourism industry. One way they hope to build upon that is through sports tourism.
State and local leaders hope the new Myrtle Beach Sports Center will help. Construction on the $13-million facility began early last year.
On Thursday, members of Myrtle Beach City Council held a special Key Ceremony to have a look at the progress. It’s something those who have worked on the project call a major milestone.
“Well, it means that the city had a plan and that the plan is coming to fruition and we’re almost at the end and that’s a great accomplishment for the city and for the folks that worked on this project,” General Manager John McDonald said.
The new facility will have space for 8 full-size basketball courts or 16 full-size volleyball courts .Managers told News13 most of the work is completed and the biggest hurdles right now are passing safety inspections and finalizing the staff.
The complex is booked solid for the first six months after its opening and that’s something managers say will boost sports tourism.
“Well I hope it will build on what Myrtle Beach has already done; this is not a new location for sports tourism. This is just another piece to the puzzle and I think all of our event users, the athletes everyone will be very impressed with the facility but we just hope to build on what the city has already started building on,” McDonald added.
At the key ceremony, Council members had the chance to make the first basketball goals on the building’s eight full-sized courts. Kids from the city’s recreation programs got to taste-test the concession food, as well as test-flush the center’s bathrooms, to be sure that everything is working properly.
The new facility, adjacent to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, provides nearly 100,000 square feet of indoor tournament space for basketball, volleyball, dance and other events
While the first official event is not scheduled until March, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes says the complex is poised for success.
“The first year projection is somewhere around $10 million. After that, the projections go up to about $25 million. That would be a direct economic impact to our city,” he explained.
Rhodes says building sports tourism into a booming industry on the Grand Strand has remained a top priority since 2005. Rhodes notes the struggle the city has at accommodating all tournaments wanting to book events in the city.
“We had the accommodations. We had the ocean, the beach. We had everything going for us except for the facilities. That was the big problem.”
