MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY- The McCracken County Fiscal Court and Paducah City Commission will meet on Tuesday to find out what the best plan is to move forward with the outdoor sports complex. The county’s sports tourism commission will present the current design renderings to the city commission. This will be the first joint meeting between the city and county to discuss the project. McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer says the city and county need to work together on this, and in the end it will be a positive project for the area.
“The appropriate way to look at this thing honestly is they can have an outstanding sports complex at half price,” Clymer said.
The project’s current price is estimated to be about $40 million. Paducah Mayor George Bray says the city is fully supportive of the project, but they need answers to the questions they have.
“I think for us to determine our level of partnership we have to understand really the design of the complex,” Bray said. “The origins of the design of the project, the thinking behind it, and all the puts and takes, if you will, about where we go from here.”
Clymer understands it’s not a decision that will be made overnight. Clymer’s hopeful city leaders can come up with how much they’re willing to contribute within a few weeks.
“The longer we sit the longer of course the thing is delayed. You can’t push dirt around in wet fall weather and winter, that sort of thing,” Clymer said. “There’s a lot of dirt to push around there.”
Bray believes the city could use a large portion of the $20 million in bond money, originally raised for the aquatic center, on the outdoor sports complex. However, Bray says other projects will also need a portion of that money.
