Pregame Begins for Seminole County Indoor Sports Complex

by Chip Colandreo

What has sand, lots of seats, and will generate an estimated $2.4 billion in economic impact while being funded by the very visitors it will bring into Seminole County?... It’s the upcoming regional indoor sports complex, and the County recently unveiled the first proposed render of the facility and more details about what it will include.

With 28 acres earmarked for it near the Orlando Sanford International Airport, the complex is now receiving bids and proposals from various architects, designers, and contractors to bring the vision to life. When complete, the flexible space inside the complex is expected to feature up to 12 basketball courts, as many as 22 indoor volleyball courts, and an outdoor space for a 25-court beach volleyball complex. A main arena will feature 2,500 stadium-style seats while the adjacent, giant event space can accommodate up to 7,500 guests for everything from local graduations to major sporting events and entertainment acts. The complex will even serve as a large-scale hurricane shelter.

Much of the funding for the complex comes from Seminole County’s new Tourism Improvement District, Florida’s first county-wide public/private partnership in which every hotel in the County pays a monthly fee for each of its rooms to fund sports tourism and increase overnight visitation throughout the community.