SPRINGFIELD, MO (KY3) – Springfield’s northwest side unveiled a new crown jewel sports facility on Friday as the Betty and Bobby Allison Sports Town grand opened. It is an indoor and outdoor multi-purpose sports facility that is expected to have a significant effect on the local economy.
Located next to Springfield-Branson National Airport, Sports Town is an impressive 82-acre venue brought together by two Tulsa investors with a donation from the late Bobby Allison (Betty is his mother). The outdoor portion of the venue features his 12 football fields, including his four on artificial turf.
That portion of Sportstown was already in use, but Friday saw the grand opening of a 94,000-square-foot indoor facility with space for two soccer fields and eight volleyball courts or four basketball courts. .
The expansive grounds include scoreboards, bleachers, state-of-the-art equipment, bathroom facilities, meeting rooms, concessions, indoor and outdoor dining areas.
“When we first came up with the idea of building a sports complex this side of Springfield, everyone looked at us like crazy,” said Tulsa developer and co-owner Rob “But you can now see that this will spur development on this side of town that has been lacking for many years,” Phillips told a sizeable number of attendees. We made a promise to our community to build one of the best sports complexes in the region, and I think we’ve delivered on that promise: at least 19 new state, regional, and national tournaments each year and nearly 100,000 spectators. And those tourists have spent more than $30 million new dollars on sightseeing in Springfield, over 48,000 new hotel nights and over $250,000 in hotel occupancy taxes. will occur.”
But it didn’t come without challenges. The project was launched during the pandemic, and the owner admitted there were some difficult times.
“It started as a $20 million project, went over $30 million, and had to bite the bullet,” says Phillips. “Steel prices were up 300% and he was six months behind. It was a very difficult time.”
“No development project is without a bump, but this one has been enhanced by COVID,” added Tulsa consultant and part owner Stan Riedel. “We thought we would be open by April, August, but either we couldn’t get this particular part, or this basketball goal was delayed by another two weeks, so it was going on month after month.”
Sportstown is just the latest of three big projects north of the city. These projects are expected to bring more regional and national events to support the local economy. The other two are his new 6,600-seat arena at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and his $25 million upgrade at Cooper Park.
“Our soccer, baseball and softball complex will acquire 19 grass fields, which complements what this facility can do with the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds new arena,” said Springfield Green County. Park Board Director Bob Bellote explained. “While the initial goal is to benefit local families, the flip side is to bring in visitor spending and sports tourism to keep the economy strong.”
Also, the Park Board does not see Sports Town as a competitor.
“At the end of the day, we want our families to be active,” Bellote said. “Whether it’s at our facility or a private facility, we want people to stay healthy. I think there’s a lot to share here. You can play in the same sandbox, but we’ve expanded it and become a midwestern player in tournament activity, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
In keeping with Sportstown’s goal of hosting regional and national events as well as serving local athletes, the venue features soccer, volleyball, and soccer leagues.
“We have everything from 18-month-olds in the Lil’ Kickers program to adults playing in the indoor soccer field last night,” said Stacie Wells, General Manager of Sports Town. “Often, parents don’t know where to send their children to play sports. We have great community center programs in our area, but those programs get boring, age-prone, and lack of skill. There are kids who are going to lose or have no place to go unless they can get into a club program and not everyone has the chance. It can open up so many opportunities for children of all ages.”
But now that top-notch facilities have been built, will local and national events be tempted to come here?
Sportstown officials say it is already strongly booked for local and regional events through 2025 and has no plans to operate at a loss as a private company.
“You can’t make a lot of money renting these coats,” Liedel explained. “It comes from tournaments and your own programming. Unless you have a sports commission with a decent budget (Springfield Sports Commission’s budget is $250,000, well below the size of other cities). , we can’t attract big events to the community, we have local and regional tournaments, but what we’re trying to do for Springfield is give more funding to the sports commissions and help the community. To make all facilities available for national events.”
Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, who attended the grand opening, was asked if it would be possible to increase the budget for the Springfield Sports Commission.
“The first step will be cooperation between the parks department and the facilities here,” he said. We can get a coordinated marketing approach.
The construction of the sports town is not finished yet. Next is the retail and lodging development at the entrance of the property.
“We were frankly waiting for the sports complex to be completed first,” Phillips said. “This is like the chicken and the egg. We need bodies to support retailers, lodging and restaurants. That’s why we wanted to bring this part to the public first.” We are ready to focus on the move at full speed and will be 100% complete within 12-18 months.”
McClure hopes other developments will follow suit.
“This is so close to the airport, so people who come will see this,” he pointed out. I guess.”
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