Mishawaka Fieldhouse expected to drive development, tourism in St. Joseph County
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Mishawaka leaders are betting on big development with the construction of a 220,000-square-foot youth sports complex that has been years in the making.
The $38 million Mishawaka Fieldhouse project is expected to house 10 multipurpose athletic courts and two turf fields, along with concessions, bleachers and space for a medical tent on the city’s north side near the Juday Creek Golf Course.
Noblesville-based Card & Associates — the athletic facilities development and management team behind The Pacers Athletic Center at Grand Park in Westfield and the Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville — broke ground on the project in June. Developers say steel beams are going up now and the facility is expected to open by July.
When completed, developers estimate the facility could bring a total 1.5 million visitors annually and solve for a perennial problem in St. Joseph County: filling hotel beds during the week and the offseason for University of Notre Dame football. It’s also expected to bring rapid growth to north Mishawaka.
“The entire complex out by Juday Creek is ripe for development,” Visit South Bend Mishawaka Executive Director Jeff Jarnecke said. “I think they—they being the city of Mishawaka and the developers on the project—really have a discerning eye for the vision of this space.”
Mishawaka leaders first began exploring the idea several years ago after a study commissioned by the local convention bureau found the area was ripe for development by way of youth sports.
The St. Joseph County area already sees high hotel room occupancy during Notre Dame home football weekends in the fall and Thursdays through Sundays during the winter youth hockey season.
It’s those days in between, Jarnecke said, that prove difficult for St. Joseph County hotels to fill rooms. Mishawaka’s location, however, positions the city well for the travel teams and tournament play. The city—a couple hours’ drive from similar facilities in Chicago, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis—is just close enough from other metro areas that travel time is not excessive, but just far enough away that a hotel stay may be in order
Tucked between cornfields and several existing housing developments, the Mishawaka Fieldhouse site is a five-minute drive from the nearest Indiana Toll Road interchange and already has some recreational activity with the Juday Creek Golf Course, owned by State Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger) and her husband, on neighboring property.
Jeff Jarnecke speaks about youth sports as a tourism driver in St. Joseph County.
Jarnecke says Visit South Bend Mishawaka expects the new fieldhouse will contribute an additional 20,000 booked nights each year in local hotels and motels. That’s compared to the 36,000 hotel room nights and $25 million annual economic impact currently brought to the county by youth sports experiences.
Getting the project off the ground has taken some creativity, city officials say.
The city created a local Tax Increment Financing district to support the project. It also received a $5.25 million grant from the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, and is expected to collect $1 million annually from the county’s hotel/motel tax structure to offset operational costs.
Card & Associates Founder Andy Card said the fieldhouse is being built with flexibility in mind. Using a portable flooring system, Card & Associates can transform the facility’s hardwood and turf fields into other playing surfaces, creating expanded capacity for volleyball and basketball tournaments. And pickleball – something Card says he’s looking to hone in on as the sport increases in popularity. The Mishawaka Fieldhouse, when complete, will be able to offer up to 26 pickleball courts, Card said, which is four more than needed for most professional tournaments.
“I’m trying to be the pickleball guy of Indiana with facilities that will attract not only pro teams, but I’m looking into having a pro team in Indiana,” Card said. “When we added these pickleball courts, it upped the count on visitors by, we believe conservative, 250,000 visitors to these facilities.”
In similar fieldhouse projects, Card says new housing developments, retail, dining and hotels have followed. He envisions the Mishawaka Fieldhouse bringing brands like Shake Shack or Wawa convenience stores to the area and says other athletics complexes his company manages bring $100 million a year on average to their local communities.
Andy Card speaks about the change he’s seen in communities near his fieldhouse projects.
With the expected boom, Mishawaka city leaders are beginning to discuss infrastructure improvements in the area, like extending Veterans Parkway, which leads into the Mishawaka Fieldhouse site, north to Cleveland Road. And, the Mishawaka Common Council approved an annexation request this week to bring about 13 acres near the intersection of Beacon Parkway and Fir Road into the city to support a 280- to 320-unit apartment complex. The land sits about a mile northwest of the fieldhouse site.
“We see a lot of potential for the spinoff of property,” said Ken Prince, the city’s executive director of planning and community development. “Right now, the world is our oyster. We have the opportunity to pursue it.”
Ryan White, a developer who represents the owners of about 150 acres of land bordering the Mishawaka Fieldhouse site, says he only expects the growth to continue.
His team at Pinnacle Properties is advertising lots for hotel sites, office and medical use, retail developments, residential properties and more. White said he would especially like to see entertainment-based companies move into the branded Juday Creek Business Park to provide experiences like bowling and arcade games that complement what the fieldhouse has to offer.
Though not ready to share the names of those interested, White said he’s been in talks with more than two dozen potential tenants and crews could break ground on the development in the spring or summer just as the Mishawaka Fieldhouse opens.
“Our big thing is a one-stop place where you come for a tournament and do all of your activities,” White said.
And, for Card & Associates, the Mishawaka Fieldhouse is just a start. Future phases could bring a hockey facility, baseball fields, a medical office building and a multipurpose soccer, lacrosse and football field.
South Bend’s Ice Box skating facility on the southwest side already has plans to add a third ice rink to its offerings by summer 2025, but Jarnecke said he is confident the demand is high enough to sustain a new facility that can alleviate tight scheduling and open up more opportunities for skating or hockey lessons.
“It might be a 10- to 15-year runway before it’s completely full,” Jarnecke said, “But, the idea that the fieldhouse is the anchor of this development is just incredible.”