Sports, Entertainment Complex Proposed By City

Story By: Josh Fortner

With the announcement of a Panasonic factory in the near future in the neighboring town of De Soto, Eudora is likely to see an influx of new residents and potential consumers. To help accommodate these future residents a new $40 million sports and entertainment complex is under construction. This new complex is expected to include basketball and volleyball tournaments, MMA events, live concerts, theater performances, and various restaurants and retail stores.

 “My hope is that they understand the benefit of the fact that we are bringing people here, spending money, and lowering their taxes,” said Eudora Vice Mayor Bruce.

Some of the goals of building this complex include increasing tourism and creating a tax base that doesn’t put a burden on the community. Those aren’t the only benefits of the complex. However, the sports arena alone is estimated to have up to a revenue of over $5 million a year. 

As the complex creates new jobs, the city plans to expand the residential areas as well.

 “We don’t have a lot of multi-family, we don’t have a lot of really high-end homes, and we don’t really have a lot of starter homes. Everything’s kind of in the middle,” said Vice Mayor Bruce.

By actively working to expand Eudora’s residential area, the city will not only increase the number of townhomes. But, also assist with the new jobs both the Panasonic factory and sports complex will bring in. The sports complex is planned to be built on the south side of K-10 and will start with 50 acres of land for construction.

One of the upsides of the complex is the sports arena itself. The complex will hold up to 5,000 people and cost $40 million to build. Estimates show that it could attract over 500,000 unique visitors each year with the average visitor coming anywhere from within four hours of Eudora. Other smaller aspects include plans for the entire area to be both walkable and bikeable, the construction of another recreation center and plans for a mix of both fast food and cafes.

This massive complex is being paid for with sales tax and revenue bonds (STAR bonds). These bonds are a tool available to Kansas cities to issue bonds to finance large-scale commercial, entertainment, and tourism projects like this one.

According to Vice Mayor Bruce, construction of the project is set to begin in 24 to 36 months.