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Patriots Point has nearly $49M economic impact
By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer
Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant attracted more than 240,800 visitors during fiscal year 2005, which ended June 30, generating a $48.9 million economic impact on Charleston County and supporting nearly 650 jobs countywide, according to a new College of Charleston report.
The study, the first of its kind for the 445-acre Patriots Point, measured the combined economic impact of the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum and the sports complex, which includes tennis, baseball, softball and soccer facilities maintained and operated by the College of Charleston.
The Patriots Point Development Authority, the state agency that oversees Patriots Point, will use the study to leverage funding from Charleston County through accommodation tax funds, said David Burnette, the authority’s executive director.
“We always knew Patriots Point had a strong economic impact, and now we have proof,” Burnette explained.
The report’s economic impact numbers are conservative, Burnette said. The figures exclude the impact of businesses operating at the Maritime Museum, such as Recreational Food Service, Fort Sumter Tours and Patriots Pictures and Flight Avionics.
The report also does not include the impact of The Patriots Point Links public golf course or the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, located on Patriots Point. These two entities most likely would attract visitors even if the Naval & Maritime Museum and the sports complex did not exist, according to John Crotts, chairman of the College of Charleston’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Department, and Frank Hefner, chairman of the college’s Economics and Finance Department, the report’s authors.
The development authority asked the authors to provide “good, conservative, credible information” to show Patriots Point’s economic value to the county, Burnette said.
The town of Mount Pleasant funded the $35,000 study.
The aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, the Naval & Maritime Museum’s feature attraction, drew nearly 175,000 visitors during fiscal year 2005, the report noted. The Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, schoolchildren and military reunion groups comprised most of the Yorktown’s visitors.
Athletic teams using the sports complex accounted for 10,320 visitors, and sports fans attending games at the complex accounted for 9,680 visitors, most of whom attended baseball and soccer tournaments.
Patriots Point generated $32 million in net taxable sales, which contributed more than $2.1 million to the state through South Carolina’s 6.5% sales tax, according to the report. Charleston County collected $268,000 in accommodation taxes from Patriots Point, while Mount Pleasant collected $320,000 in sales taxes, $134,000 in accommodation taxes and $73,000 in restaurant taxes.
The development authority’s future plans for Patriots Point include installing more interactive exhibits in the Naval & Maritime Museum to attract younger visitors, Burnette explained.
Additionally, the authority wants to increase the staff of the Patriots Point Foundation to strengthen the foundation’s fundraising efforts.
Dennis Quick covers hospitality and tourism for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@charlestonbusiness.com.
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