Equestrian center in race for legislators’ attention

OLYMPIA – While more big-ticket proposals for sports arenas may be pulling up lame this legislative session, a 7,000-seat equestrian center in Lewis County seems to be cantering right along.

The center near Winlock, with an estimated price between $50 million and $80 million, would host professional rodeo and bull-riding events, jumping competitions, national equestrian shows and possibly conventions.

It’s being heralded as a way to bring much-needed economic development to the county, which lost about 600 jobs last year after TransAlta Corp. shut down a coal mine in Centralia.

“From an economic development perspective, I think Lewis County should be top of the list,” said Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Olympia, whose district stretches south into Lewis County. “Our community is in need of diversification and opportunities for job creation.”

Larry Hewitt, project manager for the Lewis County project, otherwise known as the Southwest Washington Regional Equestrian Center, said it would bring between 150 and 300 jobs to the county during construction and an additional 30 to 50 jobs after it opens in June 2009.

The project’s backers want lawmakers to authorize creation of a public facilities district and approve a sales tax credit to help pay for construction. Hewitt said public money would pay for about 10 percent of the total cost. The rest would come from private investors in Lewis County, he said.

The Seattle SuperSonics are asking for at least $300 million in public tax money this session to build a $500 million multipurpose arena in Renton. In another big-ticket proposal, Florida-based International Speedway Corp. is asking taxpayers to pay for about half of a $368 million racetrack in Kitsap County.

“Our public involvement is a very small piece of the total project cost,” Alexander said. “That’s one of the major differences from the other projects. We’re not asking for a very big piece of the pie here in terms of the public-private partnership.”

But the Lewis County arena is just one of three equestrian centers vying for attention this session. Gov. Chris Gregoire said last month she didn’t think the state could afford three “rodeos.” Cle Elum and Enumclaw also have proposals for equestrian-related facilities.

Marty Brown, the governor’s policy director, said last week there are still questions on whether the three centers would attract enough business and interest.

“What happens when they get about a third of the business they expect?” Brown’s prediction: They’d come back to the state for more money.

Supporters insist that demand for such facilities is high, and that the proposed projects wouldn’t compete with one another.

“There could be a dozen of these things and they’d all be busy,” Hewitt said. “We have a huge equine industry in this state.”

The proposed Washington State Horse Park in Cle Elum has been in the works for more than a decade, said James Hutchins, president of the park’s foundation.

Gregoire included $3.8 million in her proposed capital budget for the park. The House version of that budget released Tuesday kept the money for the park, but Senate budget leaders have yet to release their version.

Hutchins said the horse park would be a public facility, built on 106 acres donated by the Suncadia Resort. Plans call for one indoor arena that would seat about 1,000 people and several outdoor arenas. The facility would accommodate all the equestrian sports in the Olympics, Hutchins said, as well as activities for children and the disabled.

The money included in the governor’s budget would help the park get off the ground. The park is expected to cost around $15 million but would eventually start paying for itself.

“It’s probably one of the only state parks that will actually generate revenue,” Hutchins said. “We are ready to build. And unlike some of the other ideas, this is a purely public facility.”

The Enumclaw proposal doesn’t ask for any state money this biennium but probably will in the future, said city Mayor John Wise. King County turned over its fairgrounds in Enumclaw to the city in January because the county was losing too much money on them, Wise said.

The city wants to build up the fairgrounds in a way that hopefully will draw more economic development to the area. Part of the plan would include equestrian facilities, Wise said, with areas for barrel racing, rodeos and connections to nearby trails. The city also wants to adopt an equestrian theme that would appeal to tourists.

“We want to have a defined plan of knowing exactly what we’re going to build before we go to look for tourism and economic development dollars from the state,” Wise said.

Wise said that his city is a little worried about all the attention the Lewis County arena has received in Olympia but insists they’re not in competition.

“We wish them well,” Wise said.

The bill creating the public facilities district for the Lewis County center passed the state House on a 80-16 vote. It still has to get through the Senate and be signed by the governor.

The measure also would allow the city of Kent to build a minor league hockey arena using some public money. But House Speaker Frank Chopp restricted the measure to arenas with fewer than 10,000 seats, making sure the Senate couldn’t change it to include the Sonics or racetrack proposals.

For Hewitt, he says he’s been surprised by the amount of support in Olympia – especially from more urban lawmakers.

“There are more closet cowboys in the urban jungle,” Hewitt said. “They’re coming out of the woodwork.”