Any advice you can give communities who may want to pursue sports tourism as a way to drive revenue and people to their community?

If you don’t have the infrastructure, if you don’t have the hotels to support it, you’re going to have a tough time. When hundreds of teams come to a tournament, they need a place to stay. If they have to drive an hour away to get to a hotel, it’s going to be hard to attract the volume of people needed to sustain a facility.

For people who are new to local government, what advice would you offer them?

I would advise them to be patient and to find their dream team of people— people who can provide valuable insight into the industry. It’s crucial to know your North Star, your passion, and to get grounded in it. Let that passion guide your work. Understand that this is a marathon, not a sprint. The work you’re doing is generational; it’s legacy work, not something that will be completed tomorrow or next week. You’re building a legacy for the community, so you need to be in it for the long haul. When you commit to local government, you’re committing to building a lasting legacy. No matter where you go, you carry that legacy with you, but you’ve created a significant component of it in the community where you serve.

What aspect of city leadership has surprised you thus far?

I’d say budgeting challenges. Services like fire and police are becoming more and more costly and you have to ensure that pay is competitive with other municipalities. Construction costs have gone through the roof and it’s not just new buildings or projects. The cost of repairing infrastructure has risen as well.

At the same time, you know that taxpayers wallets have gotten tighter due to inflationary pressures. So balancing all that has been tough. Doing the right thing, doing what needs to be done, while doing it in a way that’s fair to the taxpayers.

What advice can you give communities that want to pursue a large sports tourism development project?

Do a SWOT analysis of your community. Then look at your identity. For us, music and sports were a part of our identity (in reference to the theme of Macon’s new pickleball facility, Rhythm & Rally Sports & Events).

Think regionally. Look at what your neighbors are doing. If they are building a natatorium, don’t build one too. We want all the communities around us to thrive and work together. That’s what tourism is all about.

*This article is featured in Issue 5 of our digital publication. If you would like the full experience, you can read the enhanced version HERE