New Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater impacts local economy to tune of $14.2 million
Article from The Gadsden Times
See more of this project here
You could say the new Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater hit it out of the park on the first pitch.
The multi-purpose facility, which opened April 2 of last year, wasted little time in proving its value to the local community. Over the one-year fiscal period from the fall of 2020 to last fall, the SMPA's financial impact for Marshall County was reported at $14.2 million – especially impressive considering the facility was active for less than half a year over the reported timeframe.
Entrance to American Fields, the softball complex at Sand Mountain Park & Amphitheater in Albertville. Ehsan Kassim
Located in Albertville, the SMPA already has established itself as a venue willing and able to play host to all manner of sports and entertainment events. According to SMPA General Manager Patrick O'Brien, an estimated 750,000 unique visitors attended there from the April opening until the fall.
"That number doesn’t include playground visitors, outdoor walking trail, outdoor basketball courts and/or outdoor volleyball courts," O'Brien said, also stating that he expects that number to increase over the next year.
A huge variety of events made up the SMPA's schedule, O'Brien said.
"We hosted eight concerts, the highest attended concert was around 4,000 people," he explained. "We hosted about 40 sports tournaments and then 15-plus non-sports events such as boxing, MMA, high school proms, vintage market, the City of Albertville Chamber Banquet and more. The sports tournaments vary in attendance – event sizes ranging from less than 10 teams to over 60 teams. We hosted the ARPA state championship events in swimming, basketball and flag football."
As far as sports go, O'Brien said the SMPA hosted softball, baseball, tackle football, soccer, tennis, pickleball and karate events, along with the ones previously mentioned.
Much of this was made possible by the City of Albertville passing a 1 cent sales tax, which helped fund the project.
Not only is the SMPA successful now, it appears to be in good shape to build on what it already has established.