Alachua County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the allocation of nearly $652,000 for capital improvements at the site formerly home to the West End Golf Course and to prepare to host an international sporting event called the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships.
The sporting event is expected to increase tourism and draw worldwide attention to the county, some commissioners said.
“We have developed a partnership and a relationship with Celebration Pointe and the sport event center, and we’ve made a commitment to sports tourism as a key component of economic development in this community,” Commissioner Anna Prizzia said. “I think this event is a big deal for how we’ve put that trajectory, and the investment of a million dollars, while it is a lot of money, that’s what [Tourism Development Council] is for.”
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In addition to the $645,000 going toward capital improvements, commissioners approved $6,864 in travel expenses for staff to attend the 2024 athletic competition as research.
In May the county decided to purchase the West End Golf Course property in Jonesville for $3.8 million, moving forward on a plan to take over the purchasing contract held by Viking Companies, the owner of Celebration Pointe, which filed for bankruptcy in March.
The money to purchase the property at 12830 W. Newberry Road across from the Tioga Town Center in Jonesville, came from the Wild Spaces & Public Places voter-approved sales tax designated for acquiring and improving land space in the county.
Since then, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed over $20 million in funding requests for projects across the county, including $2.7 million for the 2025 World Masters Athletics Indoor Championships.
The veto has left a budget shortfall of nearly $590,000, a burden that Viking Companies has agreed to shoulder in hopes of making the money back over time.
“You’re viewing that as an investment that you’re willing to take on,” Commissioner Ken Cornell said. “Because my next question was going to be, ‘Why would you do this? Why would you just admittedly go into an event where you’re going to lose $600,000?’”
Despite the questioning, Viking Companies owner Svein Dyrolbotn reiterated multiple times that he sees it as an investment that will be good for him and the county long-term.
“I know that our partner has put in a lot of energy and time already into ‘how this is going to look and what’s going to happen?’” Prizzia said. “I feel confident taking this next step forward and continuing to do the due diligence that’s necessary to make sure that things go well.”
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