GREENWOOD, Ind — Greenwood is the latest central Indiana community getting in the game of attracting youth sports tournaments. A brand new 40-acre, $10 million complex focused on baseball and softball opens on Friday.
"We want to get in the game,” said Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers. “We want to stay in the game. We don't just want to be staying in the game. We want to be on the cutting edge of that game, and the south side doesn't have a nice complex like this, and we need one."
Greenwood Sports Park features eight diamonds with a concession stand press box in the middle of the two quads. The fields can be used for youth baseball or softball. The infields looks like red clay, but are actually artificial turf. The outfields are natural grass.
Greenwood Sports Park sits right off Interstate 65 in the northwest corner of the Worthsville Road exit, on land that once belonged to the Indiana Department of Transportation. City officials have waited years for a facility like this after plans for a previous sports complex fell through.
"I drive by on the interstate, and I watch it being built,” said Myers. “It is so exciting every day to see the changes that are taking place, to see the landscape taking place, and to see the beauty of what we have to offer."
The first event is a softball tournament this weekend. City officials expect Greenwood Sports Park to become a regional attraction boosting the local economy.
"We're the new kid in town, right?” said Greenwood Parks & Recreation Director Rob Taggart. “So, we accept that. We're fine with that, and we understand it's going to take us awhile to kind of grow into that role. But we fully expect an embrace of all the tournament directors and come spring and summer next year, we should have just wonderful, quality tournaments out here."
On the north end of the park is a multi-use field that includes a cricket pitch. There is a large Sikh community on the south side planning to use that space. The park also includes a splash pad and playground that opens Friday.
"It's fulfilling our deficiencies,” said Taggart. “From a recreational standpoint, we've got a deficiency when it comes to ball diamonds. We're addressing that deficiency. We had a deficiency with play equipment and splash pads in this area, in the southeast quadrant of the city and we're addressing that."
The ball diamonds are not open to the public but can be rented through Greenwood Parks and Recreation. The facility has agreements to share parking with the adjacent Clark-Pleasant Middle School and Redeemer Bible Church.