As it competes with surrounding communities for athletic events, Hamilton County may need to construct a large indoor sports complex if it wants to keep up with demand, according to a recent study.
“We have more demand than we have capacity in current venues,” Susan Harris, the interim CEO of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., said in a presentation to the Hamilton County Commission on Wednesday. “The industry continues to evolve. Our competition has large-scale venues — much larger than what have in Hamilton County. That really puts us at a competitive disadvantage with some of those cities, against whom we compete for large-scale youth events.”
Officials visited 16 local venues as part of their research. They spoke with hundreds of sports clients and held multiple stakeholder sessions as they assembled the study, she said. Employees with KemperSports, an Illinois-based firm hired to conduct the analysis, delivered the results of its study to county leaders this week.
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John Di Meglio, vice president of KemperSports’ venues division, said there’s a need for a larger, indoor facility in Hamilton County that could house 10 to 12 basketball courts, which could be converted into 20 to 24 volleyball courts and 36 pickleball courts.