Rome, Floyd County and Berry College officials have lofted a soft serve to the General Assembly in a bid to bring what is being dubbed the Tennis Center of Georgia to Floyd County.

It’s likely to be a couple of months before the legislature gets around to a multi-million dollar return.

Rome City Manager John Bennett, during a news conference Thursday, said that a consultant has been hired to lobby the legislature for $7.5 million in bond funds that would help finance the 74-court facility on land that will be donated by Berry College between Mount Berry Square mall and the new Armuchee Connector.

“The state has built facilities in other communities. We’ve never asked the state for anything like this,” said Bennett. He also stressed that local officials have guaranteed to the state that the local community would never ask for future operating assistance for the tennis center.

“This is the kind of economic development that is somewhat resistant to economic swings,” said Rome Mayor Wright Bagby.

Unlike a weeklong state fair, or five days at the Masters, the kind of complex that local officials are envisioning would be used, conservatively, 20 times a year. “With the average sized tournament, run the math, over 20 tournaments you’re talking 45,000 to 50,000 bed nights a year,” said Danny Price, legal counsel and spokesman for Berry College.

The total price tag for what would be the largest tennis complex in the country has been estimated at $13.6 million. Of that, $500,000 from the 2006 special purpose, local option sales tax is already in the bank earmarked for 10 courts. A portion of local hotel/motel tax collections is being set aside for the project. The sale of naming rights and a variety of grant programs would also contribute to the fundraising effort. Berry College’s land donation has been valued at $1.5 million.

“This is a win-win for everyone. Rome has a legacy of tennis that goes back into the ’50s and ’60s,” said Scott Bentley, past president of the Coosa Valley Tennis Association.

Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lisa Smith said that tennis tournaments already have a $6 million economic impact on Rome and Floyd County.

A study commissioned by Berry College through the Selig Center for Economic Development at the University of Georgia indicates that on the low end, the complex would have a $16 million economic impact on the Greater Rome area.

It was Bennett who stressed that in terms of getting state funding, “this would have a major impact not just for Rome and Floyd County, but also for the region and the state.”

Smith read letters of support for the project from State Reps. Katie Dempsey, R-Rome and Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo.

“When everyone else is talking about economic woes, we’re rallying. … This is why this town, this county are being talked about,” said Smith.

Smith promised aggressive marketing efforts to bring large tennis tournaments to Rome.

Bennett said that Rome is centrally located within the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Southern Region that boasts 25 percent of the USTA membership. The region includes nine states — Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Bennett added that the USTA has recognized that Rome is “ideally situated” to host major events for the Southern region.

Organizers are touting the 14 Quick Start courts for youth as one of the major highlights of the project. The youth courts were included when USTA personnel got involved in refining the original design of the complex.

Price was at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York back in September and spoke with tennis aficionados from across the country about plans for new complex. “They all centered on, ‘Wow, this is incredible, integrating (the junior courts) from the start,’” Price said.

Bentley said that Rome’s tennis community is very strong at the adult level and speculated that inclusion of the junior sized courts would go a long way toward increasing interest in the sport among youth. Several of the speakers pointed out that virtually every other sport has a smaller sized playing surface for youth, but it’s just now something that the USTA is emphasizing.

The layout of the complex would include six courts side-by-side that would accommodate intercollegiate tennis events. With Shorter in the NAIA and Berry in NCAA Division III, the opportunity to host major collegiate events would be enhanced.

County Manager Kevin Poe displayed visionary thought when he suggested that the facility would even be able to draw Davis Cup events with enough room for temporary seating that would be required for the international competition.

“This is a tremendous opportunity and a huge moment of pride,” said Anne Kaiser, Northwest Region vice president of Georgia Power who represented the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce at Thursday’s news conference.

Kaiser said the center would create 240 full and part-time jobs at the Tennis Center of Georgia and Berry’s Price admitted that discussions are going on related to development that would surround the tennis center. “I got four calls in the last three days,” said Price.

Poe and Price both indicated that plans are to bring the tennis center on line at about the same time as the Armuchee Connector is opened. That could be in the fall of 2011.

Poe says that clearance from the state’s Historic Preservation office is the last hurdle that has to be cleared before construction of the connector would begin. The road is expected to take about 19 months to complete. Price said should there be a delay with the connector that access to the tennis center could come from the back of the mall or from Old Dalton Road.

What happens if the state whiffs on Rome’s serve for funding?

“The state needs a shot of economic development; … this has the same impact an industry has, except the direct investment (from the state) is much lower,” Bennett said.

The lobbying effort by public affairs company ConnectSouth is being coordinated through the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau. Groups involved in the tennis center planning include the city of Rome, Floyd County, Berry College, Coosa Valley Tennis Association, Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce and Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau.