Mishawaka Fieldhouse nearly ready for opening
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A look at the interior of the Mishawaka Fieldhouse in July 2024. (photo courtesy of our partners at WSBT-TV)
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Card & Associates is working with krM Architecture and Meyer Najem on the Mishawaka Fieldhouse project. (Rendering provided by Card & Associates)
Officials in northern Indiana aim to open the new, $38 million Mishawaka Fieldhouse near the end of summer. Our partners at WSBT-TV got an exclusive first look at the 230,000-square-foot facility, which could begin welcoming athletes and families around Labor Day.
When complete, the fieldhouse will feature 19 volleyball courts that can be converted into full basketball courts, a 70 yard turf field, batting cages, and a gym all for athletes, among other amenities.
General Manager Tony Stearns said the facility will also have nearly a dozen pickleball courts for tournaments, but also for the families of the athletes.
“This also offers a great opportunity for those families that are coming in and traveling from out of town. Moms and dads and grandparents are playing pickleball too, right?” Stearns said. “So part of our strategy is, you know, marketing to these teams in these families and saying, hey, when you’re coming here, while your daughters or sons or are participating in sports here.”
The project was funded in part by a $5 million grant from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI. Ground was broken on the project in June 2021.
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—is developing the project.
The developer estimates 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.
Visit South Bend Mishawaka Executive Director Jeff Jarnecke told Inside INdiana Business last November that the fieldhouse is expected to 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.
Officials told WSBT that future expansion plans for the fieldhouse could include space for baseball and softball, soccer and even hockey.