Local officials in Pima County have approved a new, billion-dollar sports complex that will be paid for by private investment.

The upcoming the Mosaic Quarter is a sports and entertainment center that county officials say will bring in billions in local and regional revenue over the next 40 years. It's slated for a 90-acre stretch of county-owned land alongside the existing Kino Sports Complex on Tucson’s south side.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik says is the only facility specifically focused on amateur youth sports in the state. The first phase of the project is a three-sheet, solar-powered iceplex that is expected to break ground in April. 

"Then there will also be a field house that will have multiple indoor sports activity options, that can be transferred, say from basketball, to volleyball, to pickleball," he said. 

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the leases needed for that first portion in a 4-1 vote this month and Kozachik says it should be operational by 2027. A second, smaller sportsplex and outdoor pavilion is expected by 2029.

Kozachik says the privately funded facility  is the only facility exclusively focused on youth amateur sports in the state. And it’s expected to garner additional business interest because of its proximity to major infrastructure.

"From an economic development perspective, located adjacent to the freeway and next to a railhead, for cargo, rail cargo, close to the international border," he said. 

During a public comment period about the Mosaic Quarter last year, county officials said the project would create an estimated 46,000 jobs and produce $7 billion in economic development.