Developer asks Capital Improvement Board for $2.5 million toward a 100-acre youth sports complex

What happened

Adam Meyer, a Terre Haute resident, asked the Capital Improvement Board for a $500,000-a-year, five-year commitment — $2.5 million total — to help build a 100-acre youth sports complex he calls the Terre Haute Athletic District. The first phase alone — 10 baseball and softball fields — is a $15 million project; adding an indoor soccer and tennis facility in phase two would bring the total to $25 million, and Meyer projects the full build-out, including a partner hotel and housing development, at $30 to $32 million. CIB chair and Mayor Brandon Sakbun said the board is "not there today" and wants Meyer to first pursue other financing tools — such as a TIF district (tax increment financing: a zone where growth in property-tax revenue is kept for local projects) or a tax abatement (a temporary property-tax break in exchange for promised investment) — before the CIB considers a funding request.

The outcome

No commitment was made. The board said it needs to see whether Meyer has pursued a TIF district, a tax abatement, or other public financing tools before it will consider a funding request.

Sources

• 100-acre parcel for a multi-sport development, 1:17:23
• $500,000-a-year, five-year ask to the Midwest Sports Elite Foundation, 1:24:03
• Phase one is a $15 million development; phase one and two together, $25 million, 1:32:33
• Full build-out estimated at $30-32 million, 1:34:13
• Chair says the board isn't ready to commit a number, 1:30:58
• Chair explains TIF and abatement financing tools, 1:25:27
• Chair asks whether a TIF or abatement has been pursued before a CIB ask, 1:29:21

Also known as: Midwest Elite Sports Foundation · Terre Haute Athletic District · Adam Meyer sports complex · youth sports complex Terre Haute · CIB $500,000 ask · travel baseball complex