Factory Sports, pictured above, is one of five locations in Delaware to be awarded money in the second round of the Sports Tourism Fund grants.
Five sports facilities in the First State will share $10 million to make upgrades as part of the second round of grant allocations made by the newly formed Delaware Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund.
After considering 17 applications requesting a combined $47,138,560, hereâs who the Delaware Tourism Office is dishing the money out to:
Kirkwood Sports Complex â $4 million: The money will help make enhancements to the New Castle facility by upgrading parking infrastructure and expanding parking with 300 additional spots, installing artificial turf on five sports fields, and lighting five turf fields.Â
Bethany Tennis Club â $3.8 million: The money will help build a new structure with multiple interior courts and social gathering spaces to attract year-round events for tennis, pickleball, and paddle sports at their Ocean View facility.Â
Hudson Fields â $1.123 million: The money will help them take initial steps to modernize the facility in Milton by upgrading nine outdoor playing fields, installing two turf soccer fields, and improving seven existing grass fields to tournament standards.Â
Factory Sports â $577,000: The money will help construct two additional basketball courts, two volleyball courts, and six pickleball courts to host larger and more frequent tournaments at their facility in Frankford.Â
Dover Motor Speedway â $500,000: The money will help the facility implement upgrades, allowing it to continue hosting large-scale events with new paving, elevator upgrades, infield media center refurbishments, and an improved audio system.Â
The fund was created in 2023 as part of the Fiscal Year 2024 Bond Bill to provide grants in support of sports facilities like arenas, courts, fields, aquatics facilities, track and field, and more.
The first round of allocations was announced in June and included $11.3 million distributed to four locations.
On Nov. 15, the tourism office released a sports tourism economic impact study completed by Tourism Economics showing that the sports tourism sectorâs direct spending impact in Delaware was $257.9 million in 2023.Â
Those sales supported more than 3,000 part-time and full-time jobs and generated $20.2 million in state and local taxes. Â
âThe recent economic impact study confirmed that sports tourism is a significant economic driver in our state, attracting millions of visitors to Delaware each year and generating millions of dollars in revenue,â said Jessica Welch, director of the Delaware Tourism Office.Â
Applications were reviewed by a panel, including the co-chairs of the Joint Capital Improvement Committee, Sen. Jack Walsh, D-Wilmington, and Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte, as well as representatives of the Delaware Tourism Office, the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kent County Tourism, and Southern Delaware Tourism.Â
That group met on Oct. 24 to begin reviewing the applications and finalized their funding decisions at a meeting on Dec. 12 in Dover.Â
âWe are pleased to be able to support nine different facilities, through the first and second rounds of the capital investment fund, in their expansion efforts and ensure that Delaware offers top-notch sports facilities to event operators and visitors.âÂ
Immediate attempts to reach all five awardees Friday for comment were unsuccessful.
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNNâs Michael Smerconishâs YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
