Sports & Events Complex FAQ

The Dare County Tourism Board has begun early planning for a multi-use Sports and Event Complex at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. The goal is to create a community-serving facility that supports recreation, entertainment, and economic activity. Answers to common questions are provided below. Questions not addressed here can be sent to EventCenter@outerbanks.org.

June 6, 2022 Public Meeting Presentation

Does Sports & Events Complex mean Convention Center?

No. The facility being considered for the Outer Banks is far smaller than a convention center. As one comparison, the Virginia Beach Convention Center totals 516,000 gross square feet, while the Sports & Events Complex is planned at 48,275 square feet, which makes the Virginia Beach Convention Center more than 10x larger. For additional scale, the Sports & Events Complex's 48,275 square feet is less than half the size of the Target/former Kmart.

The Tourism Board also does not view large conventions as the strongest opportunity for the Outer Banks. The OBX is 1½ hours from a major airport and is often perceived as somewhat hard to reach. Convention attendees also commonly expect lodging to be attached to the meeting venue, and a hotel is not being pursued on Tourism Board-owned land. Smaller conventions and meetings are expected, but the Complex’s business forecast does not depend on that segment.

What type of facility is being proposed?

The indoor portion of the Sports & Events Complex would substantially increase the Outer Banks’ capacity to hold events year-round. It could function alongside the outdoor event site or operate independently.

The Complex’s value comes from flexibility and the wide mix of events it can support. Movable partition walls would allow the interior to be divided into smaller spaces. Flooring could be changed for sports tournaments, including basketball and volleyball. Other expected sports uses include, but are not limited to, wrestling, pickleball, cheerleading and gymnastics.

Live entertainment is also a major anticipated use. The 26,000 square foot main event hall is projected to accommodate concerts of up to 2,500 people, a size considered adequate for national touring acts. The building design includes a rear wall that can open toward the event lawn, allowing larger concert configurations. The Sports & Events Complex is also expected to appeal to consumer shows such as home, car, and boat events, as well as smaller tradeshows, meetings, banquets/galas, and other social gatherings.

A kitchen area is included to support events held at the Complex. That space may also be able to serve as a culinary training and certification location to help attract and prepare workers for local restaurants. Early conversations with College of the Albemarle and Dare County Schools have explored possible collaboration on that idea. The kitchen could provide added community value through evening programs such as healthy-living cooking classes.

Currently, local events are restricted by the size of existing indoor venues and, in some cases, by rules governing their use. County school and recreation buildings can provide large rooms, but they have limits related to alcohol on site, setup and breakdown times, and outside public access.

Outdoor events face fewer space limitations, but weather and temperature create major constraints. Temporary items such as tents can reduce some weather and seasonal risk, but rentals are costly and depend on availability. The Sports & Events Complex is intended to host many kinds of events comfortably throughout the entire year.

Why is it needed, and how does the community benefit?

The projected benefits include jobs, additional outside spending in the local economy, more than 14,000 additional room nights for area lodging providers, and expanded recreation and entertainment options for residents and visitors.

The Sports & Events Complex would provide something the community currently lacks: a flexible indoor venue able to serve groups of up to 2,500 people. The facility is projected to create approximately $25 million in new spending annually, bringing new dollars into Dare County and supporting 191 new jobs across the community.

Beyond the economic impact, the Sports & Events Complex is intended to function as a local asset, offering space for youth and adult sports, concerts, banquets, galas, weather-protected events, and culinary training.

What does new spending mean?

Economic impact can be measured through incremental spending connected to a specific facility, in this case the Sports & Events Complex. The categories include the following:

Direct Spending

Spending that happens because of events and activities at the Sports & Events Complex is direct spending. For example, when an event attendee pays for hotel rooms, shopping, or meals, those purchases count as direct spending.

Indirect Spending

Indirect spending is the re-spending of the original direct expenditures, or the purchase of goods and services prompted by direct spending at the facility. For example, when a hotel guest buys a restaurant meal, the restaurant then purchases food and other supplies. The portion of those restaurant purchases made within the local, regional, or state economies is treated as indirect spending.

Induced Spending

Induced spending reflects changes in local consumption tied to personal spending by workers whose incomes are affected by direct and indirect spending. For example, a restaurant waiter may earn additional income because of the hotel guest’s visit. The amount of that added income spent locally is considered induced spending.

Total Spending

Total spending combines direct spending, indirect spending, and induced spending.

Increased Earnings

Increased earnings measure added employee and worker compensation associated with the project being analyzed. This amount represents additional local payroll expense, including worker benefits, and shows how employees of local businesses participate in increased economic activity.

Employment

Employment measures the number of full-time equivalent jobs supported in the study area by spending generated from events occurring in the multi-purpose center.

Indirect spending, induced spending, increased earnings, and employment are estimated by applying multiplier rates to direct spending. Those figures come from an IMPLAN input-output model purchased specifically from IMPLAN Group, LLC. IMPLAN is a nationally recognized model commonly used to estimate economic impacts. An input-output model analyzes the commodities and income that normally flow through various sectors of the economy.

What is the cost of the Sports & Events Complex, and how would it be funded?

Construction pricing is highly volatile at this time, but the first rough order of magnitude estimate received last fall was approximately $18 million. The Tourism Board has a dedicated budget line item for Sports & Events Complex-related expenses. As the project advances, a variety of funding approaches will be explored.

Do centers like this typically operate at a loss?

Yes. This facility is also projected to operate at a loss, estimated at $312,000 by Year 5. The Tourism Board has worked to reduce risk in several important ways.

One risk-management step has been careful consideration of the right facility size. The proposed size is based on intended uses such as sports and concerts and the space those uses require. The plan is not to overbuild and assume that new market segments will appear later. That matters because larger buildings cost more to construct and operate, which is another reason a larger traditional convention center is not being pursued.

A second risk-management approach is avoiding dependence on a single business category. The Complex is being designed for high flexibility and a broad range of uses. It is also intended to be as beneficial to local residents as to visitors. In many respects, the Sports & Events Complex would function as a civic center.

The Visitors Bureau is planning for the projected deficit. The expected annual return of $25 million in new spending within the community, 191 new jobs, and $1,171,000 in new tax revenue is expected to more than justify the upfront cost and ongoing deficit.

Why not use the money or the site for other community needs, such as affordable housing?

Like many communities across the U.S., the area faces challenges in providing housing options that local citizens can afford. Whether and how government should provide that housing remains a topic of active debate.

The Dare County Tourism Board is a Public Authority, a quasi-governmental unit created through State law to promote overnight visitation to Dare County’s Outer Banks with a particular emphasis on less-than-peak months. The mission connects to affordable housing, but it is distinct from directly providing housing.

Developing the Sports & Events Complex lets the Tourism Board remain focused on its role of promoting tourism to the Outer Banks in less-than-peak months while also supporting a year-round tourism economy. More year-round tourism means more year-round jobs, improved wages, and greater ability for local citizens to afford housing.

A stronger year-round tourism economy also supports a more stable workforce. That stability can make year-round residential rentals more attractive to property owners compared with partial-year rentals, which often become short-term rentals instead.

If workforce is already limited, how would adding 191 jobs help?

By bringing new visitation during the traditional shoulder and off-seasons, the Sports & Events Complex would support the growth of year-round tourism. Year-round tourism creates year-round jobs.

Employers would be better positioned to keep employees instead of sharply reducing staff and then rehiring for peak months. Year-round jobs improve stability for both employers and employees.

Why not leave the site open because of its water views?

Open space is valuable and widely available on the Outer Banks, but preserving the site as open land was not the reason the Tourism Board purchased it. The Tourism Board remains committed to continued public use and enjoyment of the sound through a boardwalk west of the Sports & Events Complex and by preserving water access for kiteboarders, windsurfers, and similar users.

After construction, 72% of the site’s street frontage would remain unobstructed, maintaining strong open views of the Sound. That level of openness is comparable to conditions when the Dairy Queen, Blackbeard’s mini-golf, and Pamlico Jack’s facilities were operating.

What is the anticipated timeline?

To date, the Dare County Commissioners, the Dare County Tourism Board, and a Board-appointed Advisory Committee have each given unanimous support to the Sports & Events Complex concept as presented. That is an important step, though substantial work remains before the project can move from concept to reality.

A series of meetings is expected to address differences between the rough building and site design and the Town of Nags Head Unified Development Ordinance. Once those matters are resolved, the project would proceed into a more formal design phase. Other State regulatory agencies will also participate in site planning, especially regarding onsite wastewater management.

As noted earlier, the Tourism Board has a dedicated funding stream for the Sports & Events Complex and will carefully review the available funding and operating options. The project is expected to move from planning and design into construction. Overall, the Sports & Events Complex is expected to take at least 3 years to come to fruition, though it is closer than ever before.

This FAQ is part of a larger effort to keep the public informed. All Dare County Tourism Board meetings are open to the public. The Board typically meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month at 9:00am at the Sarah Owens Welcome Center on Roanoke Island. Questions about the project may be directed to EventCenter@outerbanks.org.