Liberty Lake seeks state aid to buy Sports USA

Liberty Lake is asking the state for $3 million to purchase Sports USA.

Liberty Lake Mayor Steve Peterson said the city partnered with the Spokane Regional Sports Commission to ask the state Legislature for money to buy the court complex, which closed in December.

Sports USA, located off Barker Road within a 644-acre area that Liberty Lake plans to annex, serves thousands of local volleyball and basketball players and is a host site for regional tournaments.

“Everybody just understands the need for that type of facility in our community,” Peterson said.

Peterson said the city is using a portion of its hotel-motel tax dollars to negotiate a temporary lease arrangement to re-open Sports USA for upcoming tournaments, including the Pacific Northwest Volleyball Qualifier, which draws 200 girls’ teams.

“The hotels close by are booked solid. They want to make sure they don’t lose that revenue,” Peterson said.

Reopening the complex poses challenges because a partner in the project, Carlson and Associates LLC, filed for Bankruptcy Court protection in December. Kert Carlson, founder of Sports USA, and a group of investors owned the nets, maple flooring and other improvements at the facility.

However, the business never generated enough revenue to pay monthly debt coupled with operating expenses.

The building, owned by Tim Welsh of Garco Construction, is not involved in the bankruptcy.

If the state provides funding to purchase the court complex, Peterson said, the Spokane Public Facilities District would handle operations, booking and marketing.