Springfield Business Journal_2021-03-29

WHERE DESIGN & PURPOSE MEET SERVING SPRINGFIELD SINCE 1977 37 years of knowledge and experience in Service, Technology and Sales. Call a pro. (417) 866-5083 • Springfield, MO ambussys.com Byron Pearson Lance Kettering: Anchor facilities increase sports- driven tourism. SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 17 MARCH 29 -APRIL 4, 2021 SPORTS & BUSINESS Game: Springfield looks to compete with Kansas City, St. Louis on tournaments Continued from page 9 not have a specific timeline for meeting the goals. On the northwest side, the planned Springfield Sports Complex developed by Oklahoma-based Philcrest Properties Inc. and L5 Management & Consulting, calls for 12 soccer fields, including one turf cham- pionship field, and a 90,000-square-foot indoor facility. The indoor center would include two soc- cer fields and four basketball courts that can convert into eight volley- ball courts. Kettering said the new complex would not be con- sidered an anchor facility but would be able to host tournaments and potentially work with other com- plexes in the area to hold larger events. Planned improvements at Lake Country have the potential to make it into the flat- field anchor facility Springfield lacks, Ket- tering said. Both the new complex and Lake Coun- try Soccer projects have received support from City Council in the form of promised economic investment. In March, coun- cil members approved an infrastructure funding agreement with the developer of Springfield Sports Complex to provide $2.1 million in reimbursement for public im- provements on the site, as long as the de- velopment was completed. Council also has declared intent to fi- nancially assist the development at Lake Country Soccer – which is on Springfield- Greene County Park Board land – with the potential of investing $5 million upfront for improvements. Power of turf For soccer complexes, having turf fields over grass is a component that has become increasingly important to tournament or- ganizers. Markey said that is the driving force be- hind the complex’s planned $10 million ex- pansion. Lake Country Soccer improvements in- clude the addition of eight turf fields along with improvements to the 10 existing grass fields. The complex currently has one turf field. “In order to compete with other commu- nities and bring the economic dollars into Springfield, it just became a need,” Mar- key said. “Kansas City has grown their turf fields drastically because St. Louis has, and vice-versa. Everyone wants those econom- ic-impact dollars because it helps everyone in the city.” Markey said in previous years, Lake Country has had to cancel large soccer tour- naments due to rain, which creates muddy, rutted and unsafe fields for the players. A few years ago, Lake Country had to cancel a tournament of over 200 teams due to rain – equating to almost $3 million in lost eco- nomic impact for the city, Markey said. “Since then, tournaments have dropped because teams just say, ‘We don’t want to take a chance of being canceled, so let’s go to these that are holding tournaments on turf fields,’” Markey said. “You’ve got that in Kansas City, St. Louis and Boonville. They can hold the same tournaments, and there’s no chance of being canceled for just rain.” Markey said while Lake Country Soc- cer has been lucky to continue hosting the tournaments they have; it is likely down about 30% from where it should be. On average, Markey said a 150-person tournament draws about $3.4 million in economic impact for the city from hotel stays and other money spent by participat- ing teams and spectators. If Lake Country Soccer had more fields and turf field op- tions, Markey said the additional tourna- ments could have a $12 million economic impact each year. “It’s really going to start putting Springfield on the map as a destination for sports events,” Markey said. “I think that’s one area we really have been lack- ing a little bit within the city, and this is going to start answering those questions for us.” SGF Sports is planning a $12 million development in northwest Springfield. SBJ FILE