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There may have been banner waving and applause emerging from the Valley HUB last month – but the most resonant ovation had nothing to do with a sporting event.
The 67,000-square-foot multipurpose venue, located at the halfway point between Liberty Lake and the city of Spokane Valley, received a $30,000 grant from Liberty Lake’s lodging tax fund to help with general promotion and advertising. While the facility is still working on raising money to cover a $5 million purchase price, news of the bequest came as a welcome boost, according to HUB Executive Director Steve Becker.
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Located off Interstate 90 inside the western boundary of Liberty Lake, the Valley HUB is home to a variety of local activities and regional events. Last month, the Liberty Lake City Council approved a $30,000 grant to help the venue expand its marketing approach. |
“It’s definitely an honor that’s been bestowed upon us,” Becker said. “Now we have a responsibility to live up to their expectations.”
Those expectations, as outlined by the city’s lodging tax committee and the Liberty Lake City Council, include utilizing the funds to market the facility as a regional event center, one that would bring visitors to local restaurants, hotels and other businesses.
“We hope the HUB will be recognized not only as a wonderful facility for sports, but also for conventions and other events,” said Liberty Lake Mayor Wendy Van Orman. “This is a regional sports venue like no other. The more people know about it, the more popular it’s going to be.”
Becker, who came on board as executive director last November, said the current priority for the HUB is to cover operational costs by leasing the facility to various groups and teams. The lineup for the venue now includes a karate training school, ballroom dancing and senior badminton and pickleball.
“Right now, we need to rent the courts,” Becker said.
It was just over five years ago that the building opened as the Sports USA complex, an athletic club and events center with room for five basketball courts and 10 volleyball courts. Within a year, the venue’s ownership group put the word out that additional investors would be needed to keep the doors open. Sports USA President Kert Carlson appealed to groups like the Spokane County Parks and Recreation Department and cities like Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley to help with programming and costs.
Discussions continued into the latter part of 2005 although money was slow to filter in. In December of that year, Carlson announced that he would close Sports USA for the time being.
In April 2007, a conglomeration of local churches, led by Spokane Valley Nazarene pastor Ian Robertson, sat down with representatives from Garco Construction, owner of the building and surrounding property, to talk about reviving the facility. Garco agreed to sell Sports USA for $3.9 million. Another $1.1 million would be required for structural improvements and day-to-day operations.
Since that time, the Valley HUB has hosted a variety of regional sporting events including a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics regional volleyball bracket and the USA Judo Fall Classic Championships. Those two tournaments, along with a Pacific Northwest Qualifying volleyball playoff held last year, brought in around $750,000 to the local economy, according to Suzanne Boyce of the Spokane Regional Sports Commission.
“It’s just a great site for so many regional events,” said Boyce. “The HUB has been an ideal venue in cases where facilities at Gonzaga or Eastern Washington might not be available or the Spokane Arena is too expensive.”
Dave Pier, a member of the Liberty Lake lodging tax committee who also serves on the board of directors for the sports commission, said the impact of events at the HUB is felt well beyond Liberty Lake.
“Places like the HUB generate great economic development,” Pier said. “Spokane County, the city of Spokane Valley – they all benefit.”
Spokane Valley Mayor Rich Munson said HUB representatives have not yet submitted a grant application requesting the type of Tourist and Promotion Area funds received through Liberty Lake.
“I don’t know how the City Council would react to that,” Munson said. “It is a draw for the region.”
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By
Craig Howard
