Windsor Locks Voters To Weigh In On $213 Million Sports Complex

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT - Voters will decide the fate of $213 million sports and entertainment complex Wednesday. The Hartford Courant reported that the vote concerns whether the private developers seeking to build the complex will qualify for tax increment financing.

Town officials have recommended approval of the project.

However, a local group, Windsor Locks Neighbors United, opposes the project. The group's Facebook page lists 21 reasons to vote against it, including that the project will not be a public park and should be funded privately.

Developers have said the project will generate $15 million in spending in its first year and $27 million in each subsequent year.

JABS Sports Management LLC has filed a general plan of development for the complex, which would be constructed on a tobacco farm between Interstate 91 and Old County Road. Plans call for an outdoor stadium and indoor arena, with synthetic turf playing surfaces for numerous sports.

Other features at the site would include dormitories, a fitness center, medical offices, a pair of hotels and shopping venues.

The 200,000 square-foot indoor facility would include 15 basketball courts and 30 volleyball courts, with a 20-acre outdoor section including eight synthetic fields and a multipurpose grass field.

For more information on voting, go to the town's website.