Northport Water Park, Sports Complex Study Results: What To Know

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport City Council Monday night heard the highly-anticipated results and recommendations from a feasibility study carried out for a proposed aquatic facility and sports tournament complex for the city.

While the proposed facilities are still in the hypothetical stages, the results of the study provide the first glimpses at the possible scope of both projects, along with potential, non-financial figures for its impact. The presentation was given in two parts, with the aquatic facility recommendations provided by a representative from the advisory firm Counsilman-Hunsaker. The tournament facility study was conducted by Utah-based Victus Advisors.

Monday represented only a presentation to the Council, as no direct questions were asked and no public feedback given by elected officials, who will now continue discussions as to the next steps the City Council will take.

Here's a quick and easy breakdown with everything you need to know about the recommendations, along with some of my thoughts.

Aquatic facility

Overview: Counsilman-Hunsaker's George Deines said the firm's market research found the necessary demand to support a 5.5- to 8-acre outdoor water park, with a capacity of 500 people at one time.

Potential impact: Predictions say 1,200-1,500 visitors per day could be expected during peak summer months. Denies said this would justify the incorporation of a 7,500-square-foot leisure pool with built-in amenities for a range of ages.

Important parts: For an aquatic facility of this size, Deines said a 3,500-square-foot lazy river would help keep visitors at the park longer. "It eats up people and can hold a lot of people, right? But it keeps them there," he said. A water slide tower would also be an option, which would be geared more toward teens and older visitors. One tower for a park this size could support 2-3 customizable slides.

Annual predictions: The firm expects 50,000 annual visits on admissions, plus another 1,700 for swim lesson visits over a period of 85-95 days (from Memorial Day to Labor Day).

Fun Fact: The aquatic park format recommended for Northport would require 417,000 gallons of water to operate.

Patch Commentary: While debate over the water park goes back years and most recently gained traction with the Council's support of a feasibility study, the temperature among elected officials points to overwhelming support for some kind of large-scale aquatic facility. Many in the community have also been vocal in their support of adding a unique amenity within the Northport city limits, while detractors have expressed skepticism toward financing it through the city's 1% sales tax and how effective it will be in attracting more development to the city.

Sports Complex

Overview: Victus Advisors' Brian Connolly provided the results for the study of a sports complex that could serve as a host site for large-scale athletic tournaments in baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball. The outdoor facility type recommended for Northport calls for eight baseball/softball diamonds, concession stands, press boxes and other support buildings to offer an attractive and quality experience for tournament visitors and locals alike. An indoor facility was also recommended, which would include six basketball courts that could be converted into volleyball courts.

Potential impact: The recommendations call for eight baseball tournaments a year, along with 17 softball tournaments, which is expected to result in 321,000 annual visits. A little more than half of these overall visitors would likely come on the weekend, the firm speculates, as gearing the facility toward tournaments would result in more visitors coming to Northport from outside of the area.

Patch Commentary: The addition of the city's very own high-level tournament complex would definitely prove an attractive amenity for a city looking to set itself apart from Tuscaloosa. Connolly pointed out that nearly all of the facilities in Tuscaloosa County are owned and operated by Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA). While plenty of vocal support exists around Northport, debate is likely to ratchet up as other ideas are interjected if, and when, it moves forward. Most recently, controversial Tuscaloosa developer Stan Pate announced his plans to turn the former McFarland Mall property into a world-class sports complex, which is hard for many to not view as a competitive venture. This plan, however, appears to be even farther behind in the conceptual stages, with far less support from the elected officials capable of cutting through the red tape and offering incentives to make the vision become reality quickly.

My View

Support, at least inside City Hall, does not seem to be in short supply for either the aquatic park or the sports complex. Getting the debate in motion and the community on board seemed to be the hardest part out of the gate and now it will all be about the follow-through for elected officials, whether they opt to pull the trigger on the large-scale commitment or hold off to continue an already protracted debate.

I have no doubt both facilities would add well-received amenities for citizens, but I also know there will inevitably be questions from the public as such a large share of the city's newly-implemented 1% sales tax would likely be the sacrificial lamb in funding construction and maintenance on the projects.

Overall, though, the market research by vetted experts does indicate that Northport as a city could support these ambitious endeavors and help the city shed the outside view of Northport being a bedroom community in favor of becoming a destination city.

Only time will tell ...

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