Scouting organization Perfect Game is partnering with the city and other investors to anchor an $800-million development in the city of Hutto, a suburb of Austin, Texas.
Iowa-based Perfect Game will be relocating its headquarters to Hutto. Besides the baseball facilities, the new development will feature a 200,000-square-foot indoor sports and events center designed to seat 13,000 and a convention hotel. The project is a partnership between Perfect Game, developer Wolverine Interests, LLC, Sports Facility Advisory and Sports Facilities Management (SFA|SFM) and the City of Hutto, with $800 million planned in private investment. The first phases of the project are expected to open Memorial Day 2021.
“The addition of Perfect Game to the City of Hutto is a shining example of how the company we keep keeps getting better,” Hutto City Manager and CEO Odis Jones said in a city press release. “Perfect Game is a game changer in terms of diversifying our tax base, in particular, our tourism, hotel and convention business. It will benefit Hutto and the Central Texas region by infusing $200 million annually in direct spending to our local community, creating demand for more than 150,000 hotel room nights, and bringing Hutto a 13,000-seat indoor sports arena.”
“Perfect Game is excited to name Hutto as our National Headquarters,” Perfect Game Founder Jerry Ford said via press release. “We look forward to helping Hutto achieve its economic and community goals. This complex will draw players, coaches, scouts, and families from coast to coast and other countries. We are especially impressed by the people here and we look forward to a long successful relationship while we work closely with the community.”
“Perfect Game’s decision to locate in Hutto, just 25 minutes from Austin, is one of the most significant events in the sports tourism industry in the last 20 years. Combining an SFM events center and hotel was a natural fit and will turn Hutto into one of the top scouting destinations in America. The community programs offered by SFM and Perfect Game will improve access to sports for local citizens. It is a true win, win, win,” said Dev Pathik, Founder and CEO of Sports Facilities Advisory.
The complex will feature office, commercial, residential, medical and physical therapy services, and sports and clothing apparel, as well as the Perfect Game Hall of Fame. The site will feature 24 turf baseball fields, 10 of which the city will develop for public use, along with multi-purpose fields and other recreational opportunities.
Perfect Game has entered a 30-year lease with the city of Hutto. The property tax totals are expected to be $5.1 million, and sales tax totals are estimated to be $1.5 million. The City is reinvesting 60 percent of ad valorem taxes back into the project for 30 years through a tax increment reinvestment zone which will pay for public infrastructure to include fields, roads, utilities and garages. The City will also generate additional revenue from gate entry fees as well as receive revenue from the use of hotel room occupancy, local sponsorships and a hotel rebate program.
Renderings courtesy city of Hutto.