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Mount Vernon nets $5M sports complex

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Over a year after its groundbreaking, the leadership of a Mount Vernon-based multisport development sees the finish line for its construction project.

Sydni Alexander, director of operations for 417 Athletics, said the venue owned by her parents, Earl and Shannon Alexander, had already in recent weeks started scheduling events and taking registration for a basketball league. The intent was to open by early next month at 300 W. Hayward Drive. That plan has been temporarily delayed, due to construction issues for the $5 million, 55,000-square-foot complex.

Alexander still anticipates an October opening, noting weather pushed back the start of construction by several months after breaking ground and site grading in September 2019.

“This has been a very interesting process, being at the mercy of the weather and then COVID happening. Our crew basically got cut in half of the number of people they would send to the site, so it kind of slowed things down for a little bit,” she said of general contractor Integrity Development and Construction LLC’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic in the spring.

It’s a venue that the Alexanders have been working toward for years, and one they and city officials hope will draw hundreds of thousands annually. Declining to disclose financials, Alexander said her parents funded some of the project out of pocket along with a U.S. Small Business Administration loan though Old Missouri Bank.

The facility designed by Verona-based Werner & Associates Architects LC features four basketball courts, eight volleyball courts, a concession area, hospitality room for coaches and officials, retail space and a 1,600-square-foot multipurpose room that will offer sports training and exercise classes. Open year-round, 417 Athletics will host seasonal sports leagues, camp clinics and large volleyball and basketball tournaments.

It will join a field of sports venues in the Ozarks, including Springfield-based The Fieldhouse Sportscenter and The Clubhouse, formerly The Courts, as well as Strafford Sports Center, which opened earlier this year.

Drawing a crowd
Attendance at 417 Athletics will be limited early on due to COVID-19 occupancy limitations, but Alexander estimates 150,000-300,000 people from a four-state region of Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma would visit the facility annually once fully operational. If those numbers are attained, she projects the city can generate roughly $100,000-$300,000 in annual sales taxes, largely through out-of-town visitor spending.

The city took in nearly $1.2 million in sales tax in 2019, according to Mount Vernon Treasurer Shari Weldy.

“Obviously, it’s a tremendous boon to our community,” said Mayor Jason Haymes. “The number of people it will bring to town, the tournaments and outside folks, they’re going to be here seeing our community.

“The location is great, too, right along the interstate; it’s kind of like a big billboard.”

Pam Dudley, director of the Mt. Vernon Area Chamber of Commerce, said she expects new visitors will be generating traffic weekly in the town of roughly 4,500 people.

“It’s unlike anything we’ve ever had before,” she said, noting 417 Athletics staff is marketing to areas such as St. Louis and Tulsa, Oklahoma. “We expect to be the midway meeting place for lots of different sporting-type activities.”

Dudley said the sales tax projections would take time to determine the development’s impact for the city.

“We expect within a couple of quarters to see an increase in our sales tax revenue, which is the basis of how our community works,” she said. “Once we start seeing the numbers, we’ll have a better idea of getting our arms around what we need to do next to prepare for the large groups of people coming in every weekend.”

Officials agree the number of restaurants and hotels will need to increase to keep visitors in the city.

“As a community, we are going to have to step up our game to make sure we have everything that is needed. We only have three hotels in town,” Dudley said, referring to Best Western, Quality Inn & Suites and USA Inn.

In total, there are less than 200 rooms for rent, she said. Additionally, there are 16 restaurants, including six fast-food eateries.

“We hope to keep those people here,” she said. “We know at first they will definitely be driving to Joplin and Springfield because we just do not have enough accommodations for multiple day tournaments.”

Both Dudley and Haymes said they are unaware of any new restaurant and hotel plans in the works. Each pointed to the pandemic’s negative national impact on the restaurant and hotel industry as a contributing factor.

Waiting game
With the opening of 417 Athletics still several weeks away, waiting is nothing new for Alexander. The Mount Vernon native has envisioned opening a sports facility in her hometown for over a decade.

She grew up playing sports, including four years of volleyball at Mount Vernon High School and two years at Central Methodist University. The 2014 CMU graduate received a bachelor’s degree in sports management and earned a double minor in business and physical education. After graduation, Alexander moved to Florida, where she picked up sports-related professional experience, first as a personal trainer, then working at Largo, Florida-based Highland Recreation Complex.

“This is all going to be geared towards athletes and sports programs,” she said of 417 Athletics. “This is one of the goals I’ve wanted to accomplish. It’s basically what I’ve been training for my whole life.”

The facility will employ four full-time and 14 part-time employees, in addition to around 20 officials for the tournaments and leagues.

Alexander said she fields calls every day from people wanting to know what the facility offers and when it will open.

“There’s a lot of excitement around it, which is awesome,” she said.

However, she’s had to temper that excitement with patience – a character trait that’s been important during the current 12-month construction cycle.

“There have been a lot of things out of our control,” she said. “It’s been a long process but it just makes you appreciate it a little bit more once it’s done.”

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