Local ventures provide benefit for residents and tourist

Editorial, The Decatur Daily

Decatur has discovered a formula for success that won’t solve all problems, but does a great job at solving some.

What Decatur, along with other local communities, does well is finding projects that simultaneously improve the quality of life for residents and attract out-of-towners with money to spend.

Thanks to activities of the Decatur-Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Friday’s edition of The Daily was filled with evidence of such projects. More are possible.

First-rate soccer fields have been a wonderful benefit for many residents, maybe worth the money even if just for those who live here. They provide a dual benefit, however, that made them an excellent investment. In January, an Olympic Development Program soccer training camp filled 65 hotel rooms, creating an economic benefit of $40,500. In November, the Governor’s Cup soccer tournament accounted for 374 hotel room nights, for a $241,000 economic benefit. The State Cup soccer tournament filled 535 rooms, for a $344,000 economic impact.

These dollars, going to hotels, restaurants, gas stations and other retailers, would not have landed in Decatur but for the soccer fields. Residents not only benefit from using the fields, they get to enjoy the tournaments that come here.

The ice rink and Point Mallard Aquatic Park are in the same category, providing pleasure for residents while pumping out-of-town tourist dollars into the economy. A Silver Sticks hockey tournament in November filled 91 hotel rooms, with an economic impact of $53,000.

Ingalls Harbor, of course, has been one of the most successful ventures. Resident water enthusiasts enjoy the facility, while the whole city enjoys the revenue it brings in for fishing tournaments. Japanese fisherman Kota Kiriyama announced recently he would hold his first American Dream tournament at Ingalls in October. It will be fun for residents to watch, will bring publicity to Decatur and will inject money into the city at a time of financial difficulty.

These successes give credence to efforts at redevelopment in Downtown Decatur, including museums and art venues. As with the other ventures, a spruced-up downtown would improve the quality of life for residents while attracting revenue from people who choose to visit.

We’ve hit on a formula that works. We need to be alert to more opportunities that provide dual benefits for local residents.