Little League Nixes Zionsville Proposal, Will ‘Consider All Options’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA proposal by Pennsylvania-based Little League International to relocate its Central Region headquarters to Zionsville has been pulled back. The organization said during a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting this week it would go another direction than the plans that involved the baseball and softball complex, office facilities and a 78-lot subdivision that would be developed by Georgia-based PulteGroup Inc. (NYSE: PHM).
From dozens of communities — including Westfield and Plainfield — that submitted proposals for Little League International to move in following its exit in 2016 from its longtime home in Indianapolis, Zionsville was selected late last year. A statement from the youth baseball and softball organization reads:
As reported at the zoning meeting, Little League International believes it’s in everyone’s best interest to pursue other options for the development of the Little League Central Region Headquarters. We will consider all options, including any new locations in the Zionsville area, before making our decision about a potential location.
Scott Mairn, who serves as division president of Pulte Homes in Indianapolis, said in a statement "we appreciate the opportunity to partner with Little League International and support their decision to explore other locations with the hope of bringing their Central Region headquarters to Boone County. We will continue to evaluate options for the 54 acres over the next few months."
Plans for LLI’s 18-acre portion of the property included two fields, parking spaces and seating for future championship events that would take place during two weeks out of the year. A group that created a website ZvilleProjectConcerns.com argued that it doesn’t opposed the Little League’s move to the town, but it took issue with the "extreme variances" the developer was asking to build dozens of homes on the site.
Both the town and the Zionsville Local Organizing Committee, the group that has spearheaded efforts to lock in the headquarters, declined to comment on the decision or discuss the future plans for Little League International in the Boone County town.