Ready, Set, Build! Youth & Amateur Sports as an Economic Development Catalyst
City of Avondale, AZ
Population: 76,238

Time: Wednesday April 18 - 2:00-3:15pm

The old adage of needing to “spend money to make money” can certainly be applied to local governments. However, with limited fiscal resources, how to spend the money becomes increasingly important. In 2008, the Avondale City Council had a vision and a specific plan of how they wanted 400 acres of land adjacent to City Hall to be developed. The City also had a new neighborhood community center planned in the Capital Improvement Plan. The only problem was the on-going fiscal resources required to maintain and operate the new community center were shrinking and it looked like the community center project would need to be put on hold.

Rather than wait for the markets to stabilize and revenue to return to 2007 levels before investing in their community, the City of Avondale showed bold leadership by proactively pursuing a partnership with a sports facilities company looking for public/private partnership (P3) opportunities to expand their youth and amateur sports programs. The two entities entered a joint venture where the City built the facility and the private company pays the total cost of operating and maintaining the facility. The agreement also calls for revenue sharing, which is anticipated to bring $300,000 annually, and results in the net effect of operating efficiencies of $1 million. Through this partnership, and initial investment, the City of Avondale was able to triple the size of the proposed community center, and is able to continue to pursue a specific economic strategy built around youth and amateur sports that compliments the vision of the City Center Specific Area Plan. The City of Avondale demonstrated that with a little creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, we’ve became the master of our own destiny.

Attendees will learn:
• Identify how public/private partnerships (P3) directly benefit the community
• Identify and foster complementary uses to grow your strategic niche
• Stick to vision; identify your niche; seek out a willing partner