So far in 2019, the Jimmy Clyde Sportsplex in Magee has hosted youth baseball and softball tournaments with 61 teams, 49 teams, 27 teams, 10 teams and 13 teams. More are scheduled for three of the next four weekends.
And all those players and their families coming to town bring a significant economic impact. David Dunn, recreation director for the city of Magee, said they did a study that showed each tournament of 30 teams or more generated about $80,000.
That has been possible because 20 years ago Magee voters overwhelmingly approved a 1 percent sales tax on hot, prepared foods and hotels to be used for recreation improvements.
As Columbia moves forward with a similar plan, it bears noting the success seen in a city of comparable size and geographic location. A bill that has passed the Mississippi Senate and was likely to go through the House this week would authorize a referendum of Columbia voters on a 3 percent sales tax on restaurants and hotels to go toward recreation and tourism. Sixty percent of city voters would have to approve the tax in a referendum. The plan, according to Mayor Justin McKenzie, is to use proceeds for a sportsplex, which has been debated for decades in Columbia but has never been built mainly because of the costs.
Dunn, who has led the recreation programs in Magee for 27 years, said he thought 3 percent was a good figure to pursue for Columbia. Magee’s 1 percent tax generates about $25,000 per month ($300,000 per year), according to Dunn. Columbia’s 3 percent tax is estimated to generate about $700,000 per year based on 2018 spending on hotels and restaurants in Columbia reported by the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
“You guys are doing it the right way if you’re trying to get more than the penny. That’s the only regret I have with ours. We were scared to death it would not be passed and only did 1 cent,” he said in a phone interview this week.
Yet the proposal passed with 90 percent of the vote and has been widely hailed as a success in the ensuring years. They have built up the complex, which is just off U.S. 49, in phases, with the first phase covering the boys fields, then girls fields and a high school field and three years ago turfing the infields. They have eight youth fields, a high school field and a peewee football field.
During tournaments, the city leases the complex out to the organizers. The organizers receive the gate money, and the city gets the amount of the lease and the concessions. Dunn said the city’s share usually comes out to $1,500 to $3,000 per weekend depending on the tournament.
The new fields have also been a boon to Magee’s city baseball league. Dunn said they had 12 to 15 teams in the league when they started and now have 63 teams this year that play every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during the season.
“That’s a big draw for us, too, and that can’t be discounted,” he said.
Dunn said the biggest thing for Columbia to remember if it moves forward with a sportsplex is that once you build it then you’ve got to maintain it. He said the light bill for the Magee fields can be $3,000 to $4,000 per month during baseball season. They’ve also gone from one full-time employee to three.
When asked if he thought the market for youth baseball tournaments might be oversaturated with existing parks in Magee, Brookhaven and elsewhere in South Mississippi, Dunn said he doesn’t believe so.
“I think people are always looking for somewhere different to play where they don’t play in the same places every year,” he said. “I think if you build nice fields, they’re going to come.”
Charlie Smith is editor and publisher of The Columbian-Progress. Reach him at (601) 736-2611 or csmith@columbianprogress.com.
