World Shooting Complex Opens in Sparta, Illinois

[Jeff White]

I live about 50 miles from there. Any THR members coming through the area are welcome to say hi.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...E84BC767C6CEA450862571A300631464?OpenDocument

Illinois shooting complex, campground opens in Sparta
By Jim Suhr
ASSOCIATED PRESS
07/06/2006

SPARTA, Ill. (AP) -- A sprawling, $50 million recreational complex carved out of former mining land ceremoniously opened on schedule Thursday, a month before thousands of visitors are expected to arrive for the nation's largest shooting competition.

Thursday's dedication of the World Shooting and Recreational Complex near this southern Illinois town coincided with the opening of the four-day U.S. Open Trapshooting Championship, an Amateur Trapshooting Association event expected to draw nearly 1,000 participants.

Shooters included Larry Bird, a 62-year-old retired millwright from Peru, Ill., who spent three hours walking the site Wednesday night and declared it spectacular.

"You couldn't ask for anything better," Bird said Thursday. "There's not a trap range anywhere in the world like this. This is awesome for Illinois, it really is."

Officials have trumpeted the 1,500-acre site -- Illinois' newest state park -- as a potential economic boon, possibly drawing 250 permanent jobs and hundreds of thousands of visitors.

This weekend's trapshooting championship is a precursor to the granddaddy of U.S. shooting events -- the ATA's Grand American championship, which begins its first-ever 11-day run here on Aug. 8.

The event, staged every year since 1924 near Vandalia, Ohio, before being displaced by expansion plans at nearby Dayton International Airport, routinely draws about 7,000 shooters and an equal number of spectators each day.

Big stuff for 4,800-resident Sparta -- about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis -- and surrounding communities that lost hundreds of jobs in recent decades as mines and a printing plant shut down. Underscoring big hopes for the shooting complex, developers in Sparta have begun building an 84-room Holiday Inn, and plans are afoot to convert an old school into another hotel.

The complex has 120 trapshooting fields extending more than three miles. The site's 1,000 camping pads make it Illinois' largest camping area, complete with three "lakes" of water-filled strip pits.

The complex has a 34,000-square-foot events center -- home to conference rooms, showers and some eateries. Five buildings with a combined 40,000 square feet for lease by corporate vendors are done, with most of the 55 compartments already spoken for. Construction began early last year.

The estimated budget to run the complex for 2007 during the fiscal year that began last Saturday is $1.4 million, though the complex already has $3.2 million in guaranteed revenue from vendors and camping fees, said Marcelyn Love, a Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman.

Much of the business could come during the long-anticipated arrival here of the Grand American, whose long line of competitors has included trick shooter Annie Oakley in 1925 and movie and television cowboy Roy Rogers in 1959.

Sam Flood, the DNR's interim chief, has said the state expects the site to be used more than 250 days each year, with the events center available for everything from weddings to meetings. Flea markets are expected on the grounds, as well as a course for all-terrain vehicles and archery.

 

[DKSuddeth]

isn't this the place that Rod 'nobodyneedsagun' blagojevich went to for the groundbreaking ceremony or opening ceremony? wonder how well that went over for the illinois gun owners?

 

[1 old 0311]

Illinois? Shooting sports? No, no irony there:banghead:

 

[Remington788]

My uncle worked there during the construction phase and from what he's told me, it is one really nice place. My parents actually live about 15 minutes from the WSRC and are in the process of building a Bed and Breakfast and hope to see good business from the events. I know the next time I'm down south, I'll be checking the place out.

 

[Waitone]

Any word on when IL gun laws will be made a little more friendly?

 

[Soybomb]

Illinois? Shooting sports? No, no irony there

Southern Illinois is really nothing like Chicago.

About an hour or hour 20 from centralia, might have to go check it out one day. Know what they're supposed to have as far as rifle ranges go? I've been wanting to find somewhere to get out past 25 yards hehe.

Any word on when IL gun laws will be made a little more friendly?

I wouldn't count on it anytime soon. Alot of illinois shooters are hunters and as long as gun control won't impact hunting it doesn't seem like they're very vocal about it. Chicago of course gets part of the blame, but certainly not all of it.

 

[NukemJim]

Does the complex have handgun ranges?

NukemJim

 

[Jim Watson]

Yes but only for obsolete revolvers shot by people who dress funny.
They are a SASS affiliate.

 

[Technosavant]

I am not too far from there (maybe about an hour to an hour-thirty), but I don't plan to visit.

I am sure that it is a great complex.
I am sure that the town would be happy to have me.
I know for a fact that most of IL is quite firearms-friendly.

BUT, until the day IL decides to quit harassing gun owners and stop electing rank idiots to office (so they can do the harassing), I don't plan to go there for my shooting fun.

 

[Moondoggie]

PASA Park, where USPSA holds many of it's national pistol matches, is in Barry, IL. Just south of Quincy. No irony there, either.

 

[distra]

That's great. We need to have these islands of sense in the land of BlogoDaley. Maybe, IL will let MO annex Sparta to keep the guns out of the wrong hands Too bad the complex wasn't in one the Chi-town 'burbs Wouldn't that have frosted someone's b****!

 

[Jeff White]

Anything that makes the shooting sports a major part of an area's economy will be a good thing for RKBA.

I think some of you would complain if they hung you with a new rope.

Jeff

 

[DKSuddeth]

I think some of you would complain if they hung you with a new rope.

well duh, who wants rope splinters?

 

[dmftoy1]

Hey, thanks for posting that! If it was a little closer I'd love to come down and try it out. They have rifle ranges longer than 300 yards don't they? It'd be funny to see how bad I suck on those.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[Technosavant]

I think some of you would complain if they hung you with a new rope.

No kidding, I mean, that OLD rope was good enough before, wasn't it? Government waste is what it is. Probably had some kind of secret backroom deal with rope manufacturers.

 

[iamkris]

Bush lied [about rope], people died [from the rope]

 

[Remington788]

I don't know if the rifle range is built yet, but I did see plans for a 100, 200 and 300 meter range. They have planty of room, so it should just be a matter of time, but they were more concerned with getting all the trap ranges set up for the Grand National. Next time I visit the parents, I'll check the place out and let you all know for sure what it is like.

 

[Jeff White]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/ne...A89D33A6B7C1943E862571A4007A4019?OpenDocument

Sport shooting center debuts near Sparta
By Kevin McDermott
POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU
07/06/2006

SPARTA

With gunfire crackling in the background, Gov. Rod Blagojevich officially opened a new state-of-the-art sport shooting center on Thursday that will make Southern Illinois home to the nation's largest trapshooting competition.

Even as Blagojevich praised the potential economic benefits of the new World Shooting and Recreational Complex outside Sparta, some critics are taking aim at the cost of the facility, now estimated at $50 million and climbing.

Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat who is struggling to dispel downstate concerns that he doesn't understand the rural Southern Illinois region, called sport shooting "part of the American experience, just as much as baseball."

Speaking outdoors to an enthusiastic crowd of about 300 people, he noted there are "those critics who said we shouldn't invest public money to have a world-class shooting complex here in Illinois," and reminded them that the state previously has subsidized projects for the Chicago White Sox and Bears.

"We ought to celebrate a sport that millions and millions of Americans ... have been engaged in for generations," said Blagojevich, before the ceremonial cutting of a red ribbon. "This is part of the American fabric."

Long presented as a $30 million state project, the administration last week quietly noted that the full price tag for the facility now is closer to $50 million. Additional money from outside the state's main construction agency that has been earmarked for the facility includes about $10 million in road renovations and almost $7 million in state-funded bonds to support sewer and water upgrades.

A Blagojevich spokeswoman on Thursday insisted the administration didn't previously imply that $30 million was the whole cost to the state - though that's the figure that continues to appear on official state media releases and Internet sites regarding the project.

John McGovern, a spokesman for Judy Baar Topinka, Blagojevich's Republican challenger in the November election, called the Sparta facility "a worthy project." But McGovern alleged that Blagojevich "misled the taxpayers by letting the costs spiral so seriously out of control."

Though open, the facility isn't finished. Officials said Thursday there still is work to do on some of the camping amenities, and construction of a skeet shooting area planned for the center is a year or more away.

The facility, about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis in Randolph County, is made up of 1,600 picturesque acres of shooting areas, 1,000 campsites, event and vendor buildings and other amenities built on a former coal strip mine site.

The ceremony took place as the U.S. Open Trapshooting Championship got under way. The event serves as a prelim to the Grand American championship, slated to get under way Aug. 8. The Grand American typically draws thousands of shooters and spectators and is often called the world's biggest shooting event.

photo caption
Dave Dressler of El Paso , Illinois, shoots at the World Trap Competition at the grand opening of the World Shooting and Recresational Complex in Sparta.
(ODELL MITCHELL JR. /P-D)

 

[Atticus]

Even Democrats need revenue. They will change in Illinois or be changed eventually. Good news for Sparta! It's a small step in the right direction.


http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=61669

Illinois Firearms Manufacturers Gather to Protest Ban on So- Called 'Assault Weapons'

3/1/2006 1:07:00 PM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: State Desk

Contact: Todd Vandermyde of DTV & Associates, 708-218-2180

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Representatives from several Illinois firearms manufacturers met in the state capitol today to express their concerns about pending legislation that would, in effect, run them out of business.

Among the companies represented were ArmaLite of Geneseo, Ill.; Les Baer Custom of Hillsdale, Ill.; Lewis Machine and Tool of Milan, Ill.; Rock River Arms of Colona, Ill. and; Springfield Armory, also of Geneseo.

The bill in question, HB2414, has sparked considerable controversy since its introduction several months ago by Rep. Eddie Acevedo (D-Chicago). HB2414 would ban the manufacture, sale and possession of thousands of styles of firearms now owned by law-abiding Illinois citizens. In effect, the bill would put an end to competitive shooting in the state and render most privately held gun collections worthless.

At noon, the manufacturers held a press conference in the Blue Room of the Capitol to outline the key points in their opposition to HB2414. Among those points are:

-- The bill serves no practical crime fighting purpose as the firearms that would be banned are rarely used in criminal acts. This fact is the primary reason why the federal "assault weapons ban" was not renewed in 2004.

-- The bill sets bad public policy by banning lawfully acquired firearms. In effect, the bill creates two new classes of criminals where none had existed previously. Peaceable, lawful firearm owners would suddenly become potential felons for harboring contraband. Likewise for the state's firearm manufacturers - one day they'd be manufacturing a legal product, the next day they'd be facing jail time.

-- The bill does not at all address the real problem of crime and violence. Nowhere in the bill is there language targeting murderers, robbers, rapists, drug kingpins, gang bangers or any of the other vermin that prowl our streets. Rather, the bill specifically targets hunters, sports shooters, gun collectors, competitive shooters and those who keep firearms for protection against the criminals this bill conveniently ignores.

-- The bill would have a tremendous negative impact on the state's economy. The firearms manufacturers represented at today's press conference contribute over $150 Million to the state's domestic product. With over 750 employees on the payroll, the Illinois firearms manufacturers provide economic stability to a region of the state often overlooked by other investors. If HB2414 is signed into law, the Illinois firearm manufacturers will relocate to other states. In addition to lost jobs and manufacturing revenue, the state's sporting goods retailers would also see over $200 Million in retail sales revenue dry up should HB2414 be signed into law.

"Like all good citizens, the Illinois firearms manufacturers and our customers are more than willing to do our part in fighting crime," said ArmaLite president Mark Westrom. "But, playing our part does not include being vilified and run out of business. HB2414 is a politically-motivated piece of feel good legislation that does a great disservice to the law-abiding people of Illinois."

http://www.usnewswire.com/