Guest Editorial: Aloft View Of A-Game Sale Economic Impact

a-game Basketball

 

Guest Editorial A Game

A Hotelier’s Perspective on Proposed A Game Sale

My heart sank when I read about A-Game being sold and turned into office buildings.  Doesn’t the saying go that sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?  The news of the possible sale of the A Game Facility came as a shock to me, especially when I heard that it was going to be turned into office buildings. It’s such a loss for the City of Franklin, and not just for the local schools, but for the local economy as well.  The breaking news article mentioned “the economic impact, effect on schools in Williamson County and other groups who use the facility, makes this newsworthy”.  The article did not mention the economic impact that this will have on the hotels and many other area businesses.  Franklin, as wonderful as it may be, does not draw in a large weekend leisure travel market like Nashville.  Full service and limited service hotels in the Cool Springs/Franklin market depend on weekend business provided by the families in town for tournaments at A Game. 

A Game hosts tournaments year round and includes volleyball, ice hockey, and basketball just to name a few.  These families travel to Franklin from all over the United States and spend their weekends in our hotels, shopping at the Galleria and in the boutiques located in Downtown Franklin, as well as eating at all of the wonderful establishments in the area.  Think about all of the occupancy tax money that  Franklin will lose once A Game closes.  In 2014, A Game tournaments brought in an estimated 20,000 room nights into the Cool Springs/Franklin hotel market.  The hotels in result of this sale would lose upwards of 2 million dollars in business and the City of Franklin would lose roughly $200,000 in occupancy tax money.  A private business has every right to sell when they want and to whomever they want, but I just wanted to share another side of the economic impact it will have that people may be unaware of.

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