A dozen men with a similar vision took a 247-mile roundtrip ride aboard a Morgan County Area Transportation Service bus.

The objective was to help determine if Celebration Arena would be a viable revenue producer.

They visited the Cullman County Agricultural Trade Center on U.S. 31 in Cullman before traveling northwest for a tour of the Fayette County Multipurpose Complex off U.S. 43 in Fayette.

The State Products Mart Authority of Morgan County, poised to purchase the aging Celebration Arena in Priceville from the Racking Horse Breeders Association of America, sponsored the trip.

“We want to see how we might incorporate some of the things they’re doing into Celebration Arena,” said Products Mart Chairman Ed Monroe.

The entire County Commission made the first leg of the trip with three members going on to Fayette. Others included business and financial consultant and trip coordinator Jim Gregory, and David Scott, a certified public accountant with Tucker, Scott & Wates LLC.

Products Mart hired Gregory and Scott to develop a feasibility study of Celebration Arena. They will present it to the board in a meeting Wednesday morning at 7 at the law offices of Harris, Caddell & Shanks at 214 Johnston St. S.E.

As manager of the 22-year-old Cullman County facility, Marlin Jennings is a one-man operation. He handles all duties at the 26-acre site governed by a seven-member board. County support keeps the center open.

The biggest draws are for Motocross and bull riding. The center seats about 1,500 in roll-back bleachers for rodeos.

The Fayette County Multipurpose Complex, on 45 acres near a Super Wal-Mart and in front of a soybean field, is in only its fourth season.

County Administrator John Gordon is the contact for event scheduling.

He said the county generates about $9 million a year in revenue and its general fund isn’t but $2.1 million. He said the most recent census shows the county has only 18,495 people, with Fayette, the county seat, having 4,995 residents.

A 12-member board oversees the facility.

“Commissioners appoint one member each,” Gordon said. “Three others serve on the executive committee, as I do, and three others are at-large appointments.”

Gordon said today’s construction costs would total about $2 million.

The facility has no debt. He attributes that to State Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville, and Rep. William Thigpen, D-Fayette.

“Over a period of time, Roger got us between $400,000 and $500,000. And (U.S. Rep.) Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, got us $300,000. A grant here and a grant there got us to where we are today. We had a lot of work done by the county road department over the years,” Gordon said.

The structure has a 50-foot-high ceiling and accommodates 1,500 people in bleacher-style seats on either side of the 160-foot by 300-foot arena. A livestock barn with 96 stalls sits at the open-ended east end of the building. It has hookups for 48 recreational vehicles and a 1,200-space parking lot.

“This facility is one of the most positive economic development tools ever,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the facility hosts 25 to 30 events annually.

Morgan County District 3 Commissioner Don Stisher observed, “If they can do this, surely we can do it with 115,000 people. The building they developed is a reflection of what we have today at Celebration Arena.”