Four projects have won Community Attraction and Tourism grants from the Enhance Iowa Board.

Iowa Economic Development Authority spokesperson, Jessica O’Riley, says a grant of $400,000 was approved for the Iowa West Sports Plex in Council Bluffs. “It includes the construction of a 75,000 square-foot indoor turf facility for athletes of multiple sports. They’ll be a youth soccer field that can be broken out into smaller fields for practice and play, hitting tunnels and netting for diamond sports, three electronic scoreboards, concessions, restrooms/change rooms and a family gathering mezzanine level,” O’Riley says. The total project cost is more than $8.83 million.

Another sports facility, the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex in West Des Moines, won a grant.”This one is about 33 million dollars and it was award $500,000. That’s going to be an almost 300-thousand square-foot facility focused on youth athletics. It’s going to have two sheets of ice; a full-sized turf soccer field; space that can convert into four basketball or eight volleyball courts; and also five full-sized outdoor soccer, lacrosse and football fields,” according to O’Riley.

Cascade won a grant of $228,000 to build a new swimming pool to replace their old pool. “It’ll feature zero-depth entry, an ADA-compliant bathhouse, six 25-yard lap lanes, two diving towers and a small water slide,” she explains. The whole project will cost a little more than $3.3 million. The final project is indoor project in Iowa City known as the FilmScene. O’Riley says the $320,000 grant will help fund the $1.5 million project.

“The purchase of a newly constructed state-of-the-art cinema facility within the 15-story, multi-use building. The space will consist of two main theaters, an educational-based theater, and then office spaces with a kitchenette and conference room,” O’Riley says.

O’Riley says these projects will all have a big impact on their communities. “I mean some people may not think a swimming pool is that big of a deal — but if you live in a down that doesn’t have one that changes your quality of life and if you have to drive maybe 40 minutes to go swim… so it’s really not just about tourism draws but also the quality of life of the Iowans who live there.” The board approved the awards at its meeting Wednesday in Des Moines.