HAPO Center wants to turn area into bustling event district. Can they get Pasco on board?
A team working for Franklin County envisions that the HAPO Center in Pasco could become the center of a vibrant new events and sporting district.
But the Pasco City Council may still need more convincing.
For years the HAPO Center has operated independently of the city’s neighboring sports complex. Now consultants say the event center should be an anchor for a lively events district, serving athletes of all ages and offering a variety of activities for the Tri-Cities community, from concerts and rodeos to meetings and trade shows.
The HAPO Center is owned and managed by the county. The city currently splits funding for it, but does not pay for capital improvements.
Larry Leasure with Idaho-based Harris White Leasure group, Charles Johnson with Chicago-based C.H. Johnson Consulting and Bryan Cole with Pasco-based engineering consultant group MacKay Sposito presented the long-awaited HAPO Center master plan to the Board of County Commissioners, Pasco City Council and HAPO Center Advisory Board last week. Councilman Leo Perales is the chair of the HAPO Center Advisory Board.
Leasure oversees hospitality, operations and management for the HAPO Center.
Their vision for the center hinges on a full, and active, partnership between the city and the county at a time when Pasco’s leaders are trying to decide whether they want to renew the recently expired cost-sharing agreement.
For months, Franklin County and city staff have been collaborating with the team of consultants on a master plan for the center. The city and county have already agreed on $4.8 million in improvements to basic building systems and the HAPO Center site, including parking lot repairs and overlay.
Now, the master plan includes recommendations for the city and county to review in the coming months. They include:
- Adding 4 new baseball/softball fields
- Updating soccer fields with new materials and seating
- Improving concessions, play area and pavilion
- Improving existing parking lots and creating additional parking
- Adding a second ice rink
Expanding use of arena space for wrestling, pickleball and other sports events
- Adding Benton Franklin Transit bus routes and drop-off zones during events
Adding sidewalks and pedestrian routes and signs
- Adding spaces for temporary RV parking during sports tournaments
- Leasing or selling county-owned commercial properties surrounding the HAPO Center
- Reevaluating use agreements between the county and city on the Pasco Sports Complex
- Building a storage and loading yard
The master plan proposes that there would be a commercial area surrounding the center which may include restaurants, bars, hotels, trampoline parks and ropes courses to entertain traveling athletes and other visitors to the Tri-Cities.
Leasure believes that if county and city leaders create a specific purpose district, they can guide commercial growth in the area. That could give the county the opportunity to sell some of the its empty land around the center.
Franklin’s commissioners said they also want to see about other funding opportunities, such as Ben Franklin Transit covering the costs of improvements to the park and ride area.
Johnson told the Herald that he projects that the HAPO Center, Pasco Sporting Complex, two ice rinks and surrounding businesses combined could bring in up to 250,000 people each year, compared to 20,000 visiting the HAPO Center annually now.
In his presentation to the county, Johnson said that if these recommendations were implemented, the activities and events at the HAPO Center, Pasco Sporting Complex and ice rinks, by year five of operation, would generate $43.2 million in total spending, $8.6 million of earnings, 385 jobs and $2.3 million in tax revenue.
What’s still unclear is how much the project would cost Franklin County and the city, and if the county and city can see eye to eye and effectively work together.
The next step is for the consulting team to produce a capital budget report for the project. Johnson said that would take another six months.
In December, some members of the Pasco City Council questioned whether the city should continue its 30-year partnership with the county for operation of the center.
Mayor Pete Serrano specifically asked to see a “legitimate budget with cost estimates in the plan.”
The current iteration of the master plan does not include a proposed budget.
Johnson declined to provide a total project cost estimate to the Herald.
The city-county agreement for the center was extended through May 2025.
County officials previously said they were hoping to see the partnership become more equal going forward. The original contract says the city can buy in at a 50% ownership stake for $1. Pasco also has the option to leave the partnership completely or to buy the center.
Meanwhile the city’s leadership has said they feel like Pasco traditionally hasn’t had as much of a voice in the center as they should.
Community members will have the opportunity to provide feedback and participate in a HAPO Center open house event in the coming months.
