Horry Electric, county begin search for a rural civic arena’s potential home
A center for horse shows, Veteran’s Day celebrations, shooting ranges, evacuations and political rallies could be coming to rural Horry County in the coming years.
All those ideas were thrown out at recent meetings discussing plans to bring a new rural civic arena to the area. For now, deciding the uses of the arena will take a backseat as the search begins for a property to house the project.
Representatives from Horry County Council and the Horry Electric Cooperative met in a special committee meeting to discuss a potential arena. A representative from Clemson University is also on the committee.
The arena would be a joint venture between Horry County, HEC and potential outside investors. HEC is willing to contribute $400,000 a year for the construction of the project.
Horry County Finance Director Barry Spivey said the cooperative’s $1.2 million goes a long way in getting this project started. Ultimately, the project could cost between $10 to $30 million depending on where it is and what type of buildings will be needed.
Those cost estimates will be spread out over time since the civic arena will not be built all at once. Conceptual plans focus on phasing out the project over time, and the most pressing matter is getting the land.
The location itself could be somewhere along Highway 701, Highway 22 and Highway 501 to make travel easier in and out of the complex. All of the potential areas are west of the Intracoastal Waterway and in rural Horry County.
“Our first goal needs to be to find a place to put it,” Committee Member Johnny Vaught said. “We must find a property that will allow us to expand … we need to get it bought and paid for.”
Spivey said if the civic center has private operations, like a campground, any bonds taken out to pay for it could be taxable as compared to tax-exempt, public-use bonds. He said this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it will increase the cost.
Committee member Danny Hardee said despite popular belief, the county does not have a giant vault of money to fund this project. Still, he reminded to the committee that if an arena is successful, the land around it will increase in value. So getting the size and location right is important.
Horry County will most likely need help to complete the project. Impact fees could be a funding option, or possibly more usefully, sponsorships from businesses like Chick-Fil-A or Pepsi looking to buy naming rights or exclusive vendor deals.
“They have marketing budgets that will blow your mind,” Hardee said.
In addition, a partnership with Clemson University, other nonprofits or grants could be a possibility.
Allen said there are clearly a lot of options on the table, and moving forward the committee needs to begin taking the early steps in finding a location.
The committee could meet again in early January to narrow down which properties could be purchased. Allen hopes the land will be purchased by this time next year at the latest.
“We’ve been kicking this can three years,” Allen said. ”We’ve got to hitch this mule and start pulling this wagon.”
