Sparta beginning a hotel feasibility study as city leaders work to address a lack of lodging options for visitors to White County.
Mayor Jerry Lowery said the city currently has only one hotel that can consistently serve visitors, prompting officials to work with the State of Tennessee’s tourism department on the study.
“We’ve literally got one hotel that you can really go use, and we really need a new hotel,” Lowery said. “We’ve got a hotel feasibility study that we’re about to embark on, and they’re gonna look at it so we can try to validate that market demand.”
Lowery said investors have previously told the city the market was not strong enough to justify building a hotel. Lowery said the study is intended to provide data that could change that assessment.
“What happens is the investors say, ‘Yeah, it’s not worth it right now,’” Lowery said. “So we wanna show them that we’re gonna validate that market demand and hopefully help support tourism and some of the events and festivals and concerts that we have here.”
Lowery said the lack of hotel rooms is causing visitors to stay in surrounding communities, even when their activities are centered in Sparta.
“We have leakage from people coming here to do things, but they’re staying in Cookeville, they’re staying in McMinnville, they’re staying in Crossville,” Lowery said. “They have told us, ‘We would rather stay here, but there’s just no hotel.’”
Lowery said short-term rentals in the area are often booked, leaving the city with few options for overnight visitors.
“Our Airbnb-type places are staying full, and people are requesting a hotel nearby,” Lowery said. “We refer them to Cookeville and surrounding counties because we just don’t have it.”
Lowery said upcoming projects and regional attractions could play a major role in increasing demand for lodging in Sparta.
“You take all of these together, we’ve got this splash pad coming, we’ve got this conference center coming, and we’ve got this state park that’s progressing at a high speed,” Lowery said. “People want to come here, and if we were that hub where people could stay, it could make Sparta a destination spot.”
Lowery said city leaders hope the feasibility study will provide the information needed to move conversations forward with developers.
He said the city is actively working with the state and potential investors to bring a hotel to Sparta and keep visitors staying in the community.