Key Takeaways
- The proposed Cayce facility carries a $74 million price tag and would be funded by a Lexington County bond referendum.
- Indoor plans call for 150,000 square feet holding 12 basketball courts, convertible to as many as 24 volleyball courts.
- County officials estimate comparable facilities produce $50 million to $100 million in economic impact from visiting athletes and families.
- Property owners south of Lake Murray would carry the tax, at roughly $14.88 annually on a $100,000 assessed value.
Lexington County, South Carolina, held a public hearing this week on a proposed $74 million athletic complex in Cayce, and the room split over who should pay for it. According to WLTX, the county would finance the Lexington County sports complex through a bond referendum, with the associated tax applying to property owners south of Lake Murray. County Council did not take a final vote.
What the Proposed Cayce Facility Would Include
The site sits just off Interstate 77 near the 12th Street Extension in Cayce. Per the WLTX report, the indoor portion would total 150,000 square feet and house 12 basketball courts that can be reconfigured into as many as 24 volleyball courts.
Outdoors, the plan calls for eight turf baseball fields built to also accommodate lacrosse and soccer.
That court count places the project in tournament-hosting territory. Twenty-four volleyball courts under one roof is the threshold most regional and multi-day national events require, and eight turf diamonds allow a baseball operator to run a full bracket on a single campus rather than spreading teams across municipal parks. The configuration is a direct bid for the traveling tournament calendar rather than a local recreation build.
How Big Is the Economic Case for the Complex?
County officials said facilities of similar scale can generate between $50 million and $100 million in economic activity by drawing athletes, families and tournaments, according to WLTX.
Cayce Town Councilman Byron Thomas framed the return in both economic and retention terms during the hearing.
“We want the best and brightest to come to Lexington County and make impacts in our county because we want the money to stay here, but we want our kids to stay here as well and play here and feel that Lexington County has truly invested in their athletic careers,” Thomas said.
That range, $50 million to $100 million, is the figure the referendum will be argued over. It was presented as a comparison to similar facilities rather than as a study specific to this site, and the source does not attribute it to a named feasibility report.
Where Lexington County Residents Are Split
The financing structure, not the facility itself, drove the opposition at the hearing.
For a property with an assessed value of about $100,000, the estimated annual cost would be approximately $14.88, per the WLTX report. Even at that figure, several speakers objected to the mechanism.
“I’m not against sports, I’m not against this complex. What I’m against is it being put on the taxpayer. It’s not our job,” one resident said during public comment.
Another speaker described the project as a government “want” rather than a “need,” and warned that an accumulation of similar projects would push taxes higher.
Support was equally direct. “The need for this project is immense, and we have felt that way for years,” another resident said during the hearing.
The pattern is familiar to anyone tracking public youth sports facility financing. Opposition rarely targets the courts and fields. It targets the bond, the geographic boundary of who pays, and whether projected visitor spending materializes as promised.
Two More Readings Stand Between Cayce and a Fall 2027 Groundbreaking
The project remains in the early stages of approval. Council allowed public comment but did not vote, and the bond referendum still requires second and third readings before it advances.
If it clears, county officials said construction could begin in the fall of next year.
Until those two readings happen, the $50 million to $100 million impact range remains a comparison drawn from other markets. The only number Lexington County property owners south of Lake Murray can weigh with certainty is $14.88.
Source: WLTX, Taylor Richardson, August 11, 2026, https://www.wltx.com/article/money/proposed-74m-lexington-county-sports-complex-spurs-debate-over-taxpayer-funding/101-604af18c-e7dc-49cc-bac2-3989dce6e77a
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