City of Norman

PROJECT PURPOSE

On October 13, 2015, Norman residents passed the NORMAN FORWARD initiative with residents voting in favor by an overwhelming 72% percent, which funded various quality of life projects through a one-half percent (¬Ω%) sales tax collected over 15 years. Two of the NORMAN FORWARD projects are an indoor aquatic center and an indoor multi-sport facility known as the Young Family Athletic Center. The Young Family Athletic Center is a new approximate 122,000 sqft facility built on a 12-acre site on the north side of Norman, OK. This center was impart made possible by a generous $4 million donation from the Young Family Foundation. The Multi-Sport gymnasium portion of the building, when completed, will each house eight basketball courts with 12 volleyball courts, which overlay the basketball courts. The Aquatic portion of the building will feature two pools: an 8-lane 25-meter competition pool with adequate spectator seating and a 4-lane 25-meter pool used as a warm-up pool during swim competitions. Norman Regional Health System is developing the approximate 25,000 square foot space between the natatorium and multi-sport areas of the building. This two-level space, NMotion, will serve as a sports and human performance center and physician clinics.

EVIDENCE

It?s clear that sports tourism is growing in the OKC metro despite the pandemic?s impact on the area. In the first three months of fiscal year 2022 hotel tax receipts superseded the same period in 2019, and according to the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitor?s Bureau, convention and sports events accounted for 194,763 total room nights booked and an economic impact of $131,150,604 ? both well ahead of projections. Visit Norman (Norman Visitors Bureau) estimates conservatively that the YFAC's potential economic impact could be more than $ 16.2 million a year. That would generate $2.2 million of tax collections, 21,300 room nights per year, and more than 38,000 visitors.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

This project will directly benefit the business sector in Norman and the surrounding community through facilitating eating, playing, and staying in central Oklahoma. This building, as it stands now, without the expansion (to its original vision), will produce $16 million a year in local spending. The City and Visit Norman believe that the gym expansion could allow the economic impact to grow up to 20% more. Many families in the OKC metro have experienced the tightening of family budgets as a result of the pandemic which immediately impacts the recreational opportunities available to them. This project, as it stands now and through the help of the Young Family Foundation and Santa Fe Family Life Center, plans to offer scholarships to residents in the local community to make sure that every young athlete in the Norman area has the chance to play sports inside this facility if they so choose. Two major goals of the Young Family Foundation are to ensure that local youth get to play in tournaments locally without having to undergo major travel and most importantly, that no young person is excluded from the activities or facilities based on their family?s income.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

This project is based on three objectives ? 1. Provide a state-of-the-art recreational facility for the youth of Norman to play indoor sports. 2. Youth Sports Tourism ? the City believes this center can significantly boost tax revenue through hotel stays, restaurants, and shopping in Norman and surrounding communities. 3. Improve both the physical and mental health with assistance from Norman Regional Hospital through the sports and human performance center, which will be placed inside the YFAC. Data collection will be collected through entities such as the City of Norman, Visit Norman, and Norman Regional Health Systems through monthly and quarterly reports of tax revenue, hotel stays, and health data.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma