Emporia tiny-home project wins $80,000 funding recommendation

Emporia’s tourism tax board has put public money behind a tiny-home plan at Champions Landing, recommending $80,000 to help turn the former Emporia Community Club property into a short-stay lodging option tied to major events. The pitch is simple: add compact places to sleep at 1801 Rural so Emporia can absorb more visitors when the city is full, and keep more of that transient guest tax value in town.

The recommendation from the Emporia Transient Guest Tax Advisory Committee now moves to the City Commission, which still must sign off before construction can start. Champion’s Landing owner Jeremy Rusco has said the project is still working through ADA compliance, fire safety, and paved-surface issues, which keeps it in the regulatory and design phase for now rather than the building stage.

That matters because the money is not being treated as a standalone property upgrade. Emporia’s transient guest tax board is a seven-member panel made up of people interested in the tourism industry, and Kansas law allows transient guest tax revenue to come from lodging receipts paid by transient guests. In other words, the city is being asked to invest public tourism dollars with the expectation that the tiny homes will help local lodging capacity when events strain hotel rooms and short-term rentals.

The tiny-home request is also landing in the middle of a broader public investment package around Champions Landing. In March 2026, Kansas Tourism awarded Dynamic Brewing, doing business as Champions Landing, almost $82,000 through its Attraction Development Grant program. That grant supported RV pads, tiny-home pads, and disc golf improvements, all framed by the state as ways to create or enhance market-driven travel experiences that attract visitors and generate economic benefits.

Champions Landing itself has already become part of Emporia’s larger sports-tourism identity. Rusco announced in early 2024 that he had purchased the former Emporia Community Club and renamed it Champions Landing, and the Emporia City Commission approved six steps of support for his disc golf vision that February. Emporia continues to market itself as the Disc Golf Capital of the World, and Champions Landing has hosted major disc golf events that draw players and fans from far beyond Lyon County.

That is why the $80,000 recommendation stands out: it is not just about a few tiny homes, but about whether a compact lodging add-on can be financed as tourism infrastructure and cleared through city approvals. If the commission follows the board’s lead, Champions Landing could move from a long-running concept into one of Emporia’s clearest examples of how tiny homes can be folded into municipal event strategy.