FOLEY, Ala. — The city of Foley is one step closer to establishing a sports complex and multi-use facility near the Foley Beach Expressway.

During its regular meeting Monday, the Foley City Council established and incorporated capital-improvement cooperative districts for a sports complex and for an events center.

In the work session prior to Monday’s meeting, the council discussed the fact that these actions do no guarantee the construction of these two projects.

“The city hasn’t made a decision yet to build,” Foley City Administrator Mike Thompson said in an interview after the meeting.

However, establishing the cooperative districts allows the city to seek federal and state tax credits in 2014.

“It allows us to save a lot of money,” Thompson said.

He explained that an events center would cost approximately $15 million and the sports complex would have a $10 million price tag. With those costs in mind, the city opted to split the cooperative e districts into two separate entities. That’s because the state has a $10 million limit per project on its tax-credit awards.

Thompson pointed out that the city will find out whether it will receive those credits in the spring. But in the meantime, the cooperative district members are in place.

“They’re an operative board now,” he said.