A bill that would have required Williamsburg, James City County and York County to cough up 10% of their shares of the Historic Triangle sales tax revenue to build an indoor sports complex is no more. But several local officials said it won’t pose a setback to conversations about creation of such a facility.
The Senate finance and appropriations committee voted unanimously to kill the proposed legislation Wednesday on bill patron Sen. Thomas K. Norment’s request, according to the General Assembly’s online legislative information system. Since the bill never left committee, it never came before either chamber of the General Assembly for a floor vote.
Senate Bill 254 would have amended the 2018 session’s SB 942 to generate funds for a regional sports complex by way of the localities’ share of the 1% bump to the sales tax rate the 2018 legislation enacted.
A regional sports facility seemed like a way to boost sports tourism, but the idea wasn’t fully explored before it was introduced as draft legislation, Norment said.
The 2018 legislation created a 1% increase to the sales tax rate in order to generate funds to market the Williamsburg region to overnight tourists. That money, as well as the money raised by a $2 transient occupancy tax, is split 50-50 between the Tourism Council and Williamsburg, James City County and York County based on where the taxes are collected. The Tourism Council is part of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance.
The 1% sales tax revenue generated $21.6 million in FY19, according to figures the Tourism Council published in December. While the Tourism Council uses its share to market the region to tourists, the localities are allowed to spend their share however they want. Norment’s 2020 bill would have essentially limited how much money localities could spend at their discretion because 10% of each localities’ share of sales tax revenue would have been earmarked for a sports facility.
The money siphoned by SB 254 would have gone toward “the planning and construction of a shared sports facility,” according to the bill’s summary. Had the bill become law, it would have required the three localities approve development of an indoor sports complex by July 1, 2021, or the 2018 legislation would have been repealed, and that would have ended the 1% surcharge and the Tourism Council.
The Williamsburg Hotel Motel Association has led an effort to build a large indoor sports complex here, and supporters of the idea have called such a facility a potential game-changer for the region’s economy. The WHMA wants to build a 168,000-square-foot indoor facility, and while it would be primarily for sports tournaments it also could be used for other events. Supporters of a sports complex say it would attract athletes and their families to the region, who would then stay in local hotels, eat in local restaurants and spend time at local tourist attractions during their stays.
But the end of the bill doesn’t mean the end of the sports complex, at least as far as some officials are concerned.
“The city wants to continue with this effort. With that said, I think there’s still great conversation to be had, great opportunity to partner with James City County and York County to complete a facility like this,” said Doug Pons, vice mayor of Williamsburg and the city’s representative on the Tourism Council.
Williamsburg has already made moves toward the construction of a sports complex. City Council OK’d a $250,000 Tourism Development Fund grant to study the expansion of the Quarterpath Recreation Center in 2020. City Council reserved about $3.3 million for the project over the next five years, with construction slated to start in year three.
It seems unlikely the bill’s elimination will do much to slow down dialogue in the region about a facility, said Ruth Larson, James City County supervisor. She added that the county’s experience has been that there is a demand for sports facility space that outstrips the supply.
“James City County has robust sports tourism and we know we need more space,” said Larson, who is James City County’s representative on the Tourism Council.
With the bill rescinded, localities don’t have to worry about the possibility of having their hands tied when it comes to decisions about how to use their share of the tax revenue. That’s a good thing because counties have limited ability to levy taxes to generate revenue, said Jeff Wassmer, a York County supervisor and Tourism Council chairman.
Wassmer noted that the localities already put funding toward tourism. He said the localities’ annual budget allocations to the Alliance could provide money toward a sports complex. Williamsburg allocated $800,000, James City County allocated $740,000 and York County allocated $438,600 as part of their FY20 budgets to the Alliance. Most of that money is passed onto the Tourism Council.
“The sports complex still has a way forward,” he said.
Staff writers SaraRose Martin and Dave Ress contributed to this report.
Jack Jacobs, 757-298-6007, jojacobs@vagazette.com, @jajacobs_
