Hopkins County Fiscal Court to vote on proposed sports complex

MADISONVILLE, Ky. (WFIE) – The Madisonville City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to approve the budget and contractor for a sports complex.

Now, that proposal moves to the Hopkins County Fiscal Court for a vote on Tuesday, March 1.

If approved, construction on the $13.9 million project will begin in a short amount of time.

“I expect that Tuesday, we will vote to approve the sports complex,” Hopkins County Judge-Executive Jack Whitfield said. “If that happens, then the dirt work will begin sometime this month. Then, we’ll begin the actual construction of the sports complex some time this spring and hopefully be done around July of next year.”

A quick turnaround for a project that has long been talked about in Hopkins County.

Whitfield says the sports complex is strategically placed to help local businesses get a boost in traffic.

“If you go to Mid Town Commons, the property we have acquired to build this sports complex is at the far northern end of this property,” Whitfield said. “We did that on purpose, because that drives traffic all the way through that development.”

This sports complex is a joint investment by the city of Madisonville and Hopkins County.

“The funding of this project is one-third the city and two-thirds the county,” Madisonville Mayor Kevin Cotton said. “The city will take in the operations of the facility once it’s built.”

$13.9 million is a lot to pay, but Whitfield says the county has been planning for the expenses.

One of the ways the county has prepared is by paying off their jail.

“At this point, there are no plans to add or raise any taxes to pay for this,” Whitfield said.

Whitfield says the county has a variety of options to fund this project, including money from Coal Severance and the American Rescue Plan.

Copyright 2022 WFIE. All rights reserved.