Play ball From the cover
The overview
1 Restaurant 2 Athletic training facility 3 Retail/restaurant 4 Hotel
5 Concession stands 6 Parking lots 7 Fields 8 Trails/park
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Construction for eight baseball and multipurpose fields will begin this fall, kicking off the first phase of a multiyear project that will bring a 122- acre sports facility to the city of Roanoke. Named the Roanoke Sports Complex, the facility will serve as a tournament hub for youth sports such as baseball, soccer and softball, Roanoke officials said. Other sports, such as lacrosse, softball, 7-versus-7 football and rugby, will also be played on the fields. The complex, located at Cleveland-Gibbs Road and SH 114, is expected to promote youth sports while bringing revenue to Roanoke and Play It Forward Sports, the enterprise behind the facility, city officials said. “This is going to be drawing people in from all over the metroplex. That’s what we look forward to doing—promoting Roanoke as a destination,” Roanoke Mayor Scooter Gierisch said.
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City park and trail area
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Sports complex boundary
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Roanoke Sports Complex
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$60M-$70M project cost
122 acres
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8 baseball fields
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SOURCE: PLAY IT FORWARD SPORTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
In a nutshell
land as a donation from the Byron Nelson Trust and agreed to lease it to Play It Forward Sports for 30 years, with the possibility of two 10-year extensions. Complex officials already are in talks with multiple national youth sports baseball tourna- ment providers about playing at the Roanoke Sports Complex, Dickson said. The Trophy Club Roanoke Youth Baseball Association will use the facility for practice when there aren’t tournaments in progress, he added.
Baseball players Blake Beavan and David Murphy, with Beavan working directly with Play It Forward Sports. Within five years, complex officials said they want to host at least 45 tournaments annually. “Our hope is that the Roanoke Sports Complex becomes an integral part of [not just] Roanoke, but all of North Texas,” Dickson said. Roanoke and Play It Forward officials entered a public-private partnership, Roanoke City Manager Cody Petree said. Roanoke officials acquired the
Aside from eight fields, the complex will have a hotel with five floors; roughly 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; and over 1,000 parking spaces split between two parking lots designed to accommodate players, coaches and families, said Dave Dickson, managing partner of 114 Development, which is in charge of the project. Dickson said the fields will be easy to retrofit with removable bases and fencing so a variety of tournaments can be played. The project has attracted support from former Major League
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