First Baptist Athletics planning new gym, field improvements on 86th Street

The First Baptist Church campus at 86th Street and College Avenue includes more than 20 fields for youth baseball, softball, soccer and football. (IBJ photo/Mickey Shuey)

The youth sports organization affiliated with First Baptist Church at 86th Street and College Avenue is planning $10 million in improvements to the fields and facilities on the church campus, including construction of a new gymnasium.

First Baptist Athletics and the church are early in the process of seeking city approvals for the project at 8600 N. College Ave., which in addition to a 34,000-square-foot gymnasium would bring improved drainage, a renovated concession and restroom building, new fencing and the cleanup of overgrowth and dead trees on the property.

Founded in 1968, the organization serves about 4,000 youth every year from across the Indianapolis area on the church’s 41-acre campus on the north side of 86th Street and west of College.

The campus includes more than 20 fields for youth baseball, softball, soccer and football. Sports in the gymnasium include basketball.

Steven Carr, executive director of First Baptist Athletics, said the new gymnasium would replace a smaller gym inside the church. According to a design filing with the state’s Department of Homeland Security, the 34,100-square-foot facility would be able to accommodate nearly 1,100 people.

In addition to the gym, it would feature offices and a concession area. The structure would be built just north of the existing church building, with a design by Ratio Architects.

“This [athletics program] is a cornerstone of the community, and we really feel like kids and families on the north side of Indy deserve the same high-quality facilities that you see in Carmel, Westfield, Franklin and other surrounding communities,” Carr told IBJ.

Carr declined to share exactly how much money has already been raised for the project, as First Baptist is still in what’s considered the silent phase of its capital campaign. But he said the organization would like to be close to 90% of the total overall goal by the time it launches publicly.

First Baptist Church is expected to go before the Department of Metropolitan Committee’s plat committee on Wednesday to request approval to subdivide its property to match the parameters of the project.

The request to replat the site initially led to some concern among neighbors that some of the church property would be used for housing development. Carr said once the vision for the site was shared, there was “really good reception” for what is in the works.

“The reason for the plat line movement is ultimately to protect the land, so we can start working on declarations to make sure that it will always be used for youth programming and not for a literal [housing] subdivision,” he said.

The property would be divided as follows:

— Lot One, on the southeast portion of the property would be 5.52 acres and include the existing church building;

— Lot Two, on the northeast portion of the site, would be 13.4 acres and contain wooded areas and the new gymnasium;

— Lot Three, at 12.8 acres, would include the west parking lot and several softball and baseball fields on the southwest portion of the property;

— and Lot Four would be 9.5 acres and include additional softball and baseball fields and another parking lot on the northwest portion of the property.

Staff in the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development is recommending approval for the replat request.

A timeline for First Baptist’s project has not been made public.