Deaconess Sports Park Eyes Synthetic Infields

Approximately ten years ago, local, civic, and political leaders sought to develop a baseball/softball sports complex that would become a tourism economic attractor for Evansville and all of Vanderburgh County. That vision led to Deaconess Sports Park development, which opened back on May 30, 2015. This eight-field complex features state-of- the-art amenities for girls’, women’s, and men’s fast and slow-pitch softball as well as boys’ 12 & under baseball tournaments. The initial cost to build Deaconess Sports Park was $15.2 million and was approved by the Vanderburgh County Council. 

The project was funded by a bond issue, where debt is being retired and paid from the Tourism Capital Improvement Fund (TCI fund receipts). The TCI fund is funded by 3.5% of the hotel innkeepers’ tax. The total Vanderburgh County’s Innkeepers tax is 8%, with 2% of such going to the Convention Center and 2.5% to Visit Evansville for operations including sales and marketing. This revenue is collected primarily by out-of-town visitors attending meetings or conventions and by sports teams that stay in Vanderburgh County hotels while competing at Deaconess Sports Park. 

The TCI fund still has a substantial reserve well above what it is paid for these Park bonds, allowing other projects’ funding. Some of the other projects funded by the TCI fund include: Mesker Park Zoo, Deaconess Aquatic Center, the Reitz Home, the LST 325, and many more.  Since its opening in 2015, the Deaconess Sports Park has generated over 95,000 hotel rooms with an overall estimated economic impact of over $85.6 million which has been felt throughout Vanderburgh County. Many restaurants, hotels, and a variety of retail businesses have been positively impacted by the out-of-town guests that have brought their players and teams to the Deaconess Sports Park. 

Visit Evansville, which oversees Deaconess Sports Park’s management, has proposed refinancing Deaconess Sports Park’s bonds. Due to current favorable bond rates, refinancing the bonds will save the County and the TCI fund money by reducing the bi-annual payments made on the bonds, and it would also free up roughly $1.9 million to reinvest back into Deaconess Sports Park. We anticipate reinvesting the $1.9 million into replacing all eight infields with synthetic infields, including the batting cages and possibly the warmup pitching mounds. 

There are several reasons why this reinvestment is vital for the future of Deaconess Sports Park. First, this investment will allow the facility to extend its season so we can host more weekend tournaments. The added benefit means additional revenue brought into our local economy by all the traveling teams and families. Second, by having synthetic infields in place, we can restart games just 30 minutes following a rainstorm, all but eliminating tournaments that would have been canceled due to the rain. Third, we will be able to attract new tournaments such as the 13-year-old boys’ baseball, and more 12 and under baseball tournaments to go along with our strong schedule of girls’ softball tournaments each season. Lastly, we want our facilities to remain competitive and by keeping Deaconess Sports Park updated, it helps to ensure its success in the years ahead.

There is ever-increasing competition on the horizon as more cities are investing into their sports facilities. Owensboro, KY reinvested $2.9 million at Jack C. Fisher Park to give their softball facility a much-needed facelift. The Grand Park Sports Campus located in Westfield, Indiana continues to expand and renovate their very impressive sports complex. Elizabethtown, KY Sports Complex is another competitor that continues to reinvest into their facility. Henderson, KY just released its plans to develop six baseball/softball fields and at least one multi-purpose field as part of the city’s proposed new sports complex on recently purchased property by the City of Henderson on Airline Road.

Two additional new developments in youth sports worth mentioning include the recent opening of the 24-acre Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Complex, an indoor track facility in Louisville, KY, and the recent opening of the 103,000 sq. ft. Bluegrass Sportsplex, an indoor multi-use youth sports facility in Elizabethtown, KY.  The message is simple, youth sports continue to be big business for cities and businesses, especially right here in Evansville, Indiana.