The Beaufort County Council has agreed to redirect $11.1 million to build a convocation center at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s (USCB) Bluffton site. The center plays a critical component in the university’s approximately $100 million Sand Shark 20/20 vision.
Around $9.5 million of the newly allocated funding was originally intended for the construction of a long-awaited law enforcement center. The council recouped the remaining $1.6 million from a budget increase for Beaufort Memorial Hospital and the Technical College of the Lowcountry. As of now, the law enforcement facility is still in the planning stage.
The Sand Shark 20/20 project – which will use the convocation facility as its centerpiece – will help bring a renewed emphasis on sports and large events back to USCB. Located next to Highway 278, the building will provide ample space for indoor sporting events, graduations, job fairs, trade shows and concerts among other uses. It will also provide the university with an emergency shelter during inclement, dangerous weather.
Slated to seat more than 4,000 people, the convocation center will add more fields to the university’s sports catalogue. Additional features will include retractable bleacher seating, both retractable and fixed seating for the sideline and baseline, a main event floor and open/flexible concourse circulation and seating.
While the arena will serve as the site’s main attraction, USCB’s Sand Shark 20/20 project will go above and beyond to draw in both athletic and non-athletic events to boost the local economy. As part of its effort to expand its field offerings, the site will include a baseball field, softball field and track and field space. The project vision also features ample parking, pedestrian bridges and privately-owned hotels in the future.
The state has already provided $47 million to support the project’s development. While the recently procured $11.1 million helps set the initiative back on track, the university is still a far cry from reaching the roughly $100 million it needs to realize the vision.
The decision to repurpose the $11.1 million was the preferred choice out of four options considered during the County Council’s March 23 meeting. The other available options were:
- Moving $5 million from the General Fund each year for a total $20 million contribution.
- Allocating a two-time $10 million balance transfer from the General Fund in Fiscal Years 2027 and 2028.
- Prepaying principles early for three fiscal years on multiple bond issues, which could total up to $13 million.
Officials are collaborating with local governments to source the remaining funds.
Photo by Hamish uscb, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, from Wikimedia Commons
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