Youth sports complex planned for New Haven
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Officials in New Haven hope a proposed youth sports complex will serve as an economic driver for the small city just outside of Fort Wayne.
The city is partnering with Noblesville-based Card & Associates to build the 45-acre complex, to be known as Fields of Grace, which will include a 140,000-square-foot fieldhouse, as well as eight outdoor multi-use fields that will have a heavy focus on baseball and softball.
Officials estimate the complex, when complete, will see over 1 million visitors and generate $50 million in annual economic impact for New Haven.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Card & Associates CEO Andy Card said the venue would bring in new visitors to New Haven, generating business the city doesn’t see today.
“A big part of what we do [is] bringing in people from other states and other parts of Indiana,” said Card. “With the location of New Haven and its proximity to Michigan and Ohio, it meets all those marks, because travel sports today for many families are their vacations. So, you have to build these facilities around infrastructure where there’s other things for them to do.”
The city originally partnered with Grace Gathering Church, which owns the property near I-469. Mayor Steve McMichael says the original goal was to build a venue that would have just a local focus, but partnering with Card & Associates has turned the plans into something bigger.
“So, what started as what was going to be a local facility for for Little League and for softball has blossomed into what’s going to be northeast Indiana’s premier sports tourism destination,” McMichael said.
The indoor fieldhouse will include at least five hardwood courts for basketball and volleyball, as well as pickleball courts, turf and convention space.
McMichael said having a complex such as Fields of Grace will help fight what he calls economic leakage, or the amount of money that is earned in New Haven, but spent outside of the city.
“When you have visitors to hotels, and retail, and medical facilities and all those things, we have a chance not only to capture a greater share of that money that’s earned in New Haven, but also create a surplus of dollars that’s coming from Fort Wayne that’s coming from Michigan, that’s coming from Ohio and beyond, as sports tourism floods into New Haven, Indiana,” he said.
And Fields of Grace will not be an isolated venue, McMichael said. Plans include connecting the complex to downtown New Haven via trails.
An official cost of the project is not yet known, but Card said the figure will likely be north of $50 million, which will include infrastructure work from the city. The project will be funded through a combination of bond financing, tax increment financing, and other sources as a public-private partnership, Card said.
Additionally, Card & Associates will operate the facility once construction is complete. A total of 30 full-time jobs will be created with hundreds more part-time positions paying an average of $20-$25 an hour.
McMichael added the complex will be a benefit to not only visitors to New Haven, but existing residents as well.
“Within a mile radius of this property, between what’s been built since 2020 and what’s being constructed now, there’s about 700, single family homes,” he said. “So there’s already a large number of people that will be within a mile of this property, and it’s going to be great being able to have that kind of activity that people can walk from their home, via a trail, come to Fields of Grace and be able to enjoy all those amenities.”
A specific groundbreaking date has not been set, but Card said he’d like to see the complex open by the end of 2024.