CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After it was recently announced that the future Capital Sports Center project in downtown Charleston was being put on pause due to high costs and funding issues, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin says its final design may start to look a little different moving forward.

Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango said last week that they had to pause the major project underway at the former Macy’s location downtown due $7 million in congressionally-directed spending not going through after the congressional budget ended up not passing.

He said whether the multi-million dollar project can move forward for the new state-of-the-art indoor sports complex is contingent on getting that $7 million federal earmark.

However, Mayor Goodwin was on 580 Live Monday, and she said that with former Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s previous enthusiasm in the project, and the fact that both of them –twice –put in the congressionally-directed spending for it, she feels confident Capito will continue to help secure the grant.

She said there are a lot of other factors at play, however, such as the skyrocketing construction costs which Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango had already addressed previously.

Goodwin said those high costs alone have already gone into helping create this slight pause.

“It is just twice the cost of anything right now, so that’s always top of mind and tip of tongue when we’re talking about this sports complex,” Goodwin said.

Amy Shuler Goodwin

But, Goodwin said there are some other forthcoming opportunities that might be worth looking into to help alleviate the cost burden for the construction of the complex to continue on a timely manner, and that centers around where it will be located.

She said they originally had plans to build up due to the limited space at the empty lot where the former Macy’s was located, but then they started to realize that it’s a whole lot cheaper to build horizontally than it is vertically, and while that would alter the design of the original plan some, that’s what they’re now considering doing.

Goodwin said this newly-proposed plan would expand the complex further into the Town Center Mall rather than build it out and extend it from the mall.

She said this new design plan, if they go with it, would also be beneficial for the mall, because, with stores continuing to close– such as, most recently, JCPenney– Goodwin said the mall could really use some more development coming in anyways.

In addition, she said it would further emphasize the development underway in that whole area downtown.

“It’s not just the mall, it’s that entire area,” Goodwin said. “If you look at TC Energy, if you look at Poca Valley Bank, if you look at the new hotel that’s coming in, yes, we need another hotel, that area is really ripe for development and expanded development.”

Goodwin said this is the largest project the city and county together have ever taken on, and she reminds everyone that it’s something that requires a lot of patience.

“The development in and around that area is significant, so think about in the 1970s and the 80s when they started building and redeveloping this huge flat piece of land, it takes a while to make big things happen,” she said.

Tearing down former Macy’s building at Charleston Town Center Mall to make room for future Capital Sports Center

However, Goodwin said the city is 100% committed to the project, because, the sports tourism trend only continues to grow nationwide, and they want to make sure they’re contributing to that.

“You know, when we announced this project, the sports tourism industry and the travel tourism was a $40 billion dollar industry, now that number is over $52 billion,” Goodwin said. “We must do this project.”

Turning to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, Goodwin said that the city has recently been approved to get new seats within the coliseum side of the building following the poor condition the current seats have been in for several years.

Goodwin said while the convention center was renovated a few years ago, the coliseum side has been long overdo for an upgrade.

“Although the Jone’s Administration did an amazing job updating the convention center side, it’s our job now to do the coliseum side, and quite frankly, it’s the side that could use the most,” she said.

Goodwin said they expect the new seats to get done and installed by the end of summer or the beginning of the fall this year.

She said this will be a very beneficial upgrade and a necessary investment.

“They look great, we saw other coliseums that have this style of seating,” she said. “It is time, it is time, and they will be in this year.”