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Indiana Soccer Association moving to Westfield

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The Indiana Soccer Association is moving its headquarters from the east side of Indianapolis to Westfield in what the Hamilton County suburb is hailing as a major addition to its planned sports mega-complex.

Westfield Mayor Andy Cook announced Thursday morning that ISA intends to move to the Grand Park Sports Campus after it's completed in 2013. Some of the 32 soccer fields and 26 baseball diamonds planned for the complex will be ready next year, Cook said.

Groundbreaking on the $42 million, 350-acre park is set for Nov. 1.

“This announcement absolutely solidifies the entire project,” Cook said. “The uniqueness about this facility is that it locates all the fields in one location.”

Westfield’s agreement with ISA calls for the association to manage and maintain the soccer fields in exchange for any rent it would have paid. ISA, which will be responsible for game and tournament scheduling, also will receive a portion of the revenue generated from the fields.

The 32 soccer fields, eight of which will be artificial turf, are designed to also accommodate football, softball, lacrosse, rugby and field hockey games.

Cook said the city is in discussions with organizations representing those sports that could be interested in playing games at the park as well.

“We expect, with this kind of announcement today, that we’ll see a lot of interest from other sports,” he said.

ISA, located at 5440 Herbert Lord Road near East 56th Street, has about 85,000 members, including youth and adult players, coaches and referees. The group said the fields could host up to 1,800 teams annually, bringing 300,000 players and vistors to the park.

The decision follows a similar announcement in January by the Lids Indiana Bulls, a youth baseball organization for players ages 12 to 18. The Bulls now play tournaments at facilities throughout central Indiana.

Cook, a key architect behind the complex, said the deals help bolster his belief that the project will be an economic development boon for the growing suburb to Carmel’s north.

Once completed, Westfield expects the park to attract 500,000 visitors annually who will generate more than $10 million in spending.

The city also estimates that 2,300 jobs could be created from the hotels and restaurants it thinks will sprout up around the park.

The goal is to attract commercial development that would be used by those visiting for the sports tournaments. If that happens, it would strengthen Westfield’s tax base, which is now mostly residential.

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  • "green"
    How do you define green space? My vision is of a natural system that pomotes and enhances the quality of environment around us and our children, not a manufactured and devestated landscape saturated with chemicals, mowing and families in SUVs......but I guess all dreams are different.
  • Great news for Carmel!
    How does Westfield ever expect to recover the inital cost of their investment? Hotels are resturaunts are not going to build when Carmel is just a couple of miles down the road. What a waste for the Westfield taxpayer.
  • Gasp!
    You are so right! Just think of all the McMansions we're entitled to overfinance that will never be built. Damnable greenspace! And just think of how many strip malls could fit in that area. Since when does healthy fun take precedence over consumerism? The world is turning upside down!!!!!
  • Progressively worse....
    While a complex of this size may not exist, various componenets already exist in the Indy area. Now, all of these users will be funneled into a tax payer funded, redundant sports park on tax payer funded roads. You think traffic is bad now on US31 and I-69....wait until these things go up. And what will INDOT's esponse be...oh, we need wider roads.
    • TwoThumbsUp
      Soccer is becoming very popular.
    • Make it nice and usefull
      I think that this is truly something worthwhile. Not sure who is going to pay for it, tournament fees i guess.
      A suggestion or two. Plant some trees and have plenty of restroom facilities -not port a stinks.
      pervious concrete and no retention ponds that cause goose droppings.
    • Soccer Demand is High
      I know of no existing soccer complexes that are abandoned or crumbling. Youth soccer is on the rise in the Indy metro area. It has been for a long time. I don't think that demand is likely to fall below the supply of outdoor facilities in the foreseeable future. Westfield's new facility will just add to the opportunities for outdoor youth sports in the area.
    • Where does this already exist?
      Where is there a complex of this size and scale already in existence?
      • Wrong Direction
        Yet we again spend millions to recreate what already exists depleting the origional source and leaving a new entity to eventually crumble due to expenses.

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        1. First, the Athenaeum is going to have to get past the hurdle with the Lockerbie residents and the agreement that the parcel would be residential. Second, and in my opinion, this prime piece of property should include parking, PLUS, a black box theater(s), some market rate and affordable artist housing and a plan to renovate and reconfigure the second story theater. I would negotiate to add the DeHaan property surface parking lot into the development mix, place a one story surface parking garage on the DeHaan lot on the street level (for the Dehaan tenants use during the daytime) and add a second story to the garage that would become an addition to the current second story theater and then change the direction of the theater by moving the stage across the alley and on top of the DeHaan lot parking. You can add all the stage elements that are currently missing from the Athenaeum stage to make it more attractive for use by Ballet, Opera and traveling productions. Plus, the theater changes would probably help solve some of the soundproofing issues. Alas,it does not seem to be a part of the strategic plan to conduct a study to determine best use of the property. Seems like the current plan is a quick and easy move that ignores the property best use/potential and any strategic property planning for the effect on future generations.

        2. I recall that MSA's pilings are still in the ground and hard to remove. It’s not likely any proposal will include significant underground construction/parking because of this. Start adding 2 floors of retail, 8 floors of parking and 5-10 floors of possible hotel, and/or 10-20 floors of residential, and you are at 30 floors already with possible expansion of all the uses. But then again I could be wrong.

        3. Accoriding to their website there is no deadline to the Do Not Call list. What is this article referring to??

        4. On what planet are they entitled to this largesse from the stockholders? These people make multi-million dollar salaries: Pay for your own personal travel.

        5. It matters because they're already paid enormously fat salaries: Pay for your own personal travel. Being "taxed on it" isn't a valid excuse--so what? They're still being gifted a raft of luxury perks from somebody else's money on top of an enormous, lavish salary.

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