Branson pens deal with consultant for next phase of sports complex study

The Branson municipality has entered an agreement with a Clearwater, Florida-based business management consultant firm as part of next steps toward a potential indoor sports facility in the city.

City Administrator Cathy Stepp said via email that the agreement with Sports Facilities Cos. "is expected to require $40,000 of investment." That would provide three to four months of consultancy services, she said, following a study completed last year by SFC that was commissioned by the Taney County Partnership, the economic development arm of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau.

That study recommended a 170,000-square-foot indoor sports facility, and SFC estimated a project cost ranging roughly $60 million-$73 million, not including the purchase of land.

"We're now working to 'Branson-ize' the findings from the original feasibility study. SFC will help us drill down into the findings, identify potential funding partners, establish key dates and deadlines," Stepp said. "They will help us organize community outreach/input and identify appropriate featured programming and uses. We will also establish some preliminary project timelines."

Asked about a potential timeline, Stepp said work on a new sports complex could start as soon as next year.

"Realistically, I believe construction could start first quarter of 2026," she said. "That may be ambitious, but we're not going to waste a day."

At a November event, the Branson chamber and the Taney County Partnership released the results of the SFC study, with a rendering shown and the proposal listing eight basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, 24 pickleball courts and telescopic bleachers with a 4,000-person seating capacity.