GULF SHORES, Alabama -- When the City Council approved a nearly $500,000 track reconstruction contract last week it wasn?t just an improvement project, it was in investment in a $20 million industry that continues to grow in south Baldwin County.
The council OK'd paying Precision Sports Surfaces Inc., the lowest bidder, $482,155 out of bond money to resurface, repair and improve the track at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.?
Each May the city hosts the Alabama High School Athletic Association?s track championship for 4A, 5A and 6A schools and along with it more than 2,000 players.
With the players come their families, which is a boon for the city and surrounding areas, Mayor Robert Craft said.
?We had quite a big crowd when we held the state track meet last year,? Craft said. ?If your kid is going to be in a track meet and it?s in Gulf Shores -- at the beach -- you?re more inclined to go visit, which is good for us.?
And it?s events like the state track meet that helped the area rake in more than $16 million last year. Tournaments from youth baseball to high school to college are held at sportsplexes and recreational fields in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores with games spilling over to Foley for the larger ones.
According to Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Sports Commission, 77 events were held in 2011 with 48,655 room nights drawing in $7.3 million along with $9 million in additional spending.
As of October, those numbers were eclipsed as the area has already hosted 80 events and $21.4 million in visitor spending, according to the latest figures provided by Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism.
?This area has become much more youth-sports oriented,? Gulf Shores Mayor Pro-tem Carolyn Doughty said. ?We?ve talked with the sports commission and right now it?s just really the state track meet that?s the big event that we have out there, but with making this investment we?re hoping the sports commission is able to attract Junior Olympic programs.
?When we attract those kinds of teams to come here that really helps our economy because families come with them.?
Source: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/11/gulf_shores_invests_in_20m_spo.html
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