Judge and commissioner at odds over old Bluegrass Downs grandstand

McCracken County Judge-Executive Craig Clymer and Commissioner Bill Bartleman are at odds over costs, financing, and the need to keep the old Bluegrass Downs grandstand as a centerpiece for the new sports park.

At the literal and figurative center of the discussion is the cost and financing of the grandstand project. To renovate and upgrade it to serve as a grand entrance to the new sports park will cost an estimated $8-9 million. The building would not only be an entrance, but would also have 1,200 covered seats, offices, air-conditioned observation areas, and dining areas.

Judge Clymer believes the project could be accomplished through private funds. He said in a Facebook post that trying to raise the money does not cost the taxpayers anything, and if you reach the goal, you get the facility and its benefits at no cost to the county. Clymer said that demolishing the structure would cost about $200,000 and then an entrance would have to be constructed, and could cost taxpayers over $2 million.  

Clymer said in his post, "I’ve asked for two months to try to find a donor or donors.  There is 0 cost in taking that time to search.  If the money doesn’t come, we demolish and build new.  We at least will have tried.
Let’s see if we can have a magnificent entrance at no public cost, rather than a mediocre one at $2M public."

Bartleman, meanwhile, questioned the need for it at all. A large portion of the families that travel with teams to tournaments bring their own chairs and sit right at the backstop or sidelines of a field not even utilizing bleachers at facilities. He said in a responding post that, "it’s a waste of money no matter how it’s paid for." Bartleman suggested using funds raised under Clymer's plan to pay for demolition and the construction of an entrance to the park, saying that is a better use of those dollars, and it still saves the taxpayers money. 

No doubt, this discussion is far from over. 

Groundbreaking for the complex is scheduled for July 22nd, with opening anticipated to be in the fall of 2025.