New legislation signed into law recently allows the state to explore entering into an agreement with a private company to run the World Shooting and Recreational Complex near Sparta.

The law, HB 3456, permits the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to gauge interest in a public-private partnership to manage the state-owned 1,600-acre site, which hosts the Amateur Trapshooting Association’s Grand American Trapshooting Championships.

The bill was sponsored by State Rep. David Friess (R-Red Bud) and State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro). 

Friess said the IDNR can no longer afford to maintain the property and seeks to sell it.  

The shooting complex includes 746 RV campsites, 120 trapshooting fields, and a 34,000-square-foot events center. 

“Sadly, these resources are only fully utilized about four weeks out of the entire calendar year,” Friess said. “With the proper resources, management, and strategy behind it, this facility could serve as a huge economic boon to the community.”  

The facility, which was completed in 2006 at a cost of $31.5 million, has faced disruptions over the years, including shutdowns during the state budget impasse in 2015 and 2016, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe that a private entity, one designed to make money, will fully utilize the potential of this facility and make it something even more special for everyone,” Friess said.