ROCK HILL, S.C. — A small tax on food and beverage purchases and hotel stays has added up to something big for Rock Hill.
The $27 million Rock Hill Sports and Event Center opened its doors to the media on Tuesday, ahead of next month's grand opening.
The center is one piece of a much larger $100 million project called University Center. It sits on land once dominated by a gigantic textile mill known as The Bleachery. More than a decade of work and planning went into revitalizing the area and connecting it to downtown and nearby Winthrop University.
University Center, which is still under construction, will also include two hotels, restaurants, a brewery, student housing, shops and an area for concerts. It will be a walkable community like none other in the area.
The Sports and Event Center is another piece of a puzzle that Rock Hill leaders have been assembling for decades.
"We've reached out, and we really want to be the home of amateur sports,” said Brian Jones, center superintendent.
The new center houses 10 basketball courts, volleyball courts and space for gymnastics, as well as trade shows and other community events, such as concerts.
It will be a public rec center during the week and rented out for tournaments on many weekends.
The push to make Rock Hill a name in sports tourism is not new and started in the mid-80s with the baseball fields at Cherry Park, which has hosted large-scale tournaments.
Two decades later, Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex off Dave Lyle Boulevard opened and has hosted national championship events, which attracted thousands of people to the area.
Then in the last decade, the city added Riverwalk that has a velodrome track and Olympic-caliber BMX bike track. Both have drawn national attention to the city and its desire to build state-of-the-art outdoor venues.
The missing puzzle piece involved indoor sports, such as basketball, which is now in downtown.
The local economic impact of each of these steps has been significant.
Below are some figures on the economic impact since each facility opened:
| The local economic impact of each of these steps has been significant. Below are some figures on the economic impact since each facility opened: | |
|---|---|
| Cherry Park: Softball/ baseball | $179 million |
| Manchester Meadows: Soccer | $116.4 million |
| Rock Hill Outdoor Center: Biking | $39.3 million |
| Rock Hill Sports and Event Center | $10 million per year (est.) |
Attendance at local sporting events has more than quadrupled since 2006 from 52,090 visitors to 219,846 visitors in 2019.
This past July, free public bus service started in Rock Hill, which will help bring tourists and their money to the new center.
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