Parks & Recreation

Athletic Venues Initiative

Project Status: Planning

Project Overview:

The Minnesota State Legislature approved a request from the City of Duluth to renew a one-half-of-one-percent increment in tourism taxes (half-and-half tourism tax) to fund improvements to parks-based athletic venues that drive regional sports tourism. The renewed half-and-half tourism tax will provide up to $36 million of investment and will be implemented in phases over a decade. Per state law, the half-and-half tourism tax dollars may only be spent on athletic facilities that currently host, or could in the future host, events and competitions that attract numerous participants from outside the Duluth region.

The City is consulting with RDG Planning and Design, Inc (RDG) to assist with community engagement, public-private financing opportunities, investment recommendations, site planning, and market-based cost estimating. Prioritized re-investments will be made at existing parks-based athletics venues that drive regional sports tourism. Recommendations for investments will be based on an in-depth needs assessment, community and stakeholder input, and market-driven data resources.

Project Update:

The City and RDG have conducted significant public outreach to better understand community needs and priorities, including focus group meetings with leaders from local athletics groups, in-person community-wide workshops, and an online community survey. More than 100 people attended the in-person community workshops, and more than 1,400 people completed the online survey. Additional work completed by RDG includes a sports-tourism focused market assessment, participation trends analysis, facility needs assessments, and market-based cost estimates for potential facility improvements.

In March 2026, staff provided a project update and presentation to Duluth City Council's Committee of the Whole (link provided in the Important Documents section below). The presentation outlined the project background, work completed to date, and an initial recommended funding approach to be reviewed with community partners.

In May 2026, staff met with community partners to review the Committee of the Whole presentation, listen to feedback on the proposed funding approach, and discuss collaborative fundraising opportunities to expand the scope of future projects. To the extent possible, staff will explore alternate investment options and incorporate feedback received at the community partner meetings into the recommended funding approach, before bringing updated recommendations back to our community partners.