The Delaware Tourism Office reopens the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund next month.
The fund provides financial support to new or existing sports facilities in the state that hold events to attract out-of-state visitors while also contributing to the state and local economy.
This second round of funding will allocate $10 million to different sites.
Delaware Tourism Office Director Jessica Welch says the fund targets facilities that can hold larger scale events.
"These projects are for larger facilities. The facilities need to have the space to hold these large scale tourism events for different sporting events,” said Welch. “So they're not cheap to build a facility like that or even to renovate or add improvements to one."
The first round earlier this year awarded $11.3 million to four sites up and down the state.
In that round, the Delaware Tourism Office received 18 applications requesting a total of over $54 million, and it expects it will be competitive again.
Welch says while the four organizations that were awarded money in the first round can apply again, it’s been suggested they sit out this time.
"There's nothing in the program regulations that would prevent an organization that received funding in the last round from applying again, but just anecdotally to those organizations we've kind of been saying let's see what you're able to do with the funds that you have. They have a year to spend those funds based on the regulations. We kind of asked them to take a year off if possible so that someone else can have the opportunity to apply for the fund and hopefully get funding," said Welch.
Applications open August 1 and close on September 13 at 4 p.m.
