This facility has four all-synthetic turf baseball fields and a multi-purpose field. The main focus is youth sports.
Henderson Assistant City Manager Dylan Ward said they have three main goals for this complex. The first goal is filling the local sports venue needs for the community.
“Our second goal is to basically decrease the subsidy and increase the amount of revenue that we can receive off the facility,” he said. “So we want to meet local needs, but we also want to find ways to generate revenue through tournaments and concessions and other ways, so that we can continue to operate at a low cost.”
The third goal is to drive economic impact by bringing in tournaments, and outside teams.
“Hopefully they eat at our restaurants — stay local and spend money to help our local economy.”
This is a joint project between Henderson City and Henderson County. The property was in the county, but the city annexed it for the project. The overall budget is about $18.5 million, with Henderson County contributing more than $1 million for lighting equipment.
They’re contracting with third party organization Sports Facilities Companies to run the complex.
Ward said the local youth baseball league, the PCMA (Players, Coaches and Managers Association) will experience a significant upgrade switching to the new turf field.
“ … one of the best advantages of turf is that you can play one game after the next and not have to worry about rain outs or wear spots, as much as you would on a normal field. And so, these turf fields will be a huge advantage, not just to our city, but to our region when it comes to repetitive use.”
This will be a state-of-the-art facility with the most modern lighting system, and even the ability to live-stream games.
The name of the complex will be announced at the March 29th grand opening, though both Deaconess Hospital Inc. and various other entities have paid for naming rights.
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