Lauderdale County’s ability to sustain a central sports complex will soon be made clear after the county Board of Supervisors on Monday approved hiring a firm to study the issue thoroughly.

 

In its regular meeting at the Lauderdale County Government Center, the board approved an $39,700 agreement with Sports Facilities Advisory LLC to conduct a sports complex feasibility and cost study through Lauderdale County Tourism.

 

Tourism Director Laura Carmichael said the study will build on some preliminary feasibility work the county previously had done in 2019 and 2020 and will look at a variety of sports and athletic events.

 

“They had started it, I believe, back in 2019, 2020, so this will be in addition to that,” she said. “It will look at the whole community and do the study from that.”

 

With approval from the Board of Supervisors, Carmichael said the project will get underway quickly, with an estimated timeline of approximately three months to complete the work.

 

Building a sports complex or large facility capable of hosting regional and travel tournaments has been discussed by county leadership — as well as Meridian and Marion — for more than a decade. Large tournaments can draw more than 100 teams to a city and bring significant economic impact to the area.

 

During the 2024 legislative session, Lauderdale County’s delegation introduced bills to fund such a project through a $5 tax on hotel and motel rooms dependent on voters approving the plan, however, neither the Senate or House version of the bill made it through the legislative process by the end of the session. It is unclear if legislators will try again in the 2025 session, which began Tuesday.

 

In other business, the Board of Supervisors authorized the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department to apply for two annual grant it uses to enforce safety on local roads. Sheriff Ward Calhoun said his department will apply for $48,731.56 from the Occupant Protection Grant program and $181,046.30 in the form of a DUI grant.

 

The Occupant Protection Grant will go to pay overtime for deputies while the DUI grant pays for two DUI officers to be on patrol on the night shifts, Calhoun said. Neither grant requires matching funds from the county.