Youth sports is sparking two major projects in Allen County: Will there be room for both?
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Rendering of a proposed fieldhouse for the Fields of Grace youth sports complex in New Haven. Card & Associates says construction will begin this summer on the $50 million build. (Rendering provided, Card & Associates)
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Rendering of the proposed North River Fieldhouse in downtown Fort Wayne. The $60 million project is planned with a 160,000-square foot fieldhouse in mind for youth sports. (Rendering provided, city of Fort Wayne)
The youth sports landscape in Allen County is becoming crowded with two similar fieldhouse projects in the works in Fort Wayne and New Haven, respectively.
The North River Fieldhouse near downtown Fort Wayne and the Fields of Grace project in New Haven both will feature large fieldhouses and surrounding developments with the main goal of capturing a share of the ever-growing youth sports tournament market.
But the fieldhouses as planned are less than a 20-minute drive from each other, and the proximity of the projects raise questions about whether the burgeoning sports tourism ecosystem in northeast Indiana can support both complexes.
Card & Associates—the Indianapolis-based developer for the Fields of Grace—CEO Andy Card recently told WPTA-TV, “There’s no question there’s going to be competition; it’s going to be gloves off.”
The developer’s CEO, Billy Bunkowfst, was more measured in an interview with Inside INdiana Business this week, saying it’s hard to tell how the Fort Wayne project will evolve.
“It’s more than likely going to compete if they move forward as currently envisioned,” Bunkowfst said.
Fort Wayne officials, however, don’t feel there will be any butting of heads between the two planned facilities.
The city’s deputy director of development, Alec Johnson, said Fort Wayne notified New Haven leaders of the North River Fieldhouse before plans were made public.
“We recognize that New Haven is also planning to invest in a youth sports facility,” a statement from Johnson read in part. “We look forward to both facilities offering needed benefits to the community and region and don’t believe there will be competition but an opportunity for growth and success at both venues.”
A study Fort Wayne commissioned before embarking on its North River Fieldhouse project mentions the Fields of Grace but offers no analysis of how the two facilities would interact. That study says there are 10.2 million people who live within a 2.5-hour drive from the Fort Wayne metro area.
A court of fields and courts
Bunkowfst says his firm considered the site off North Clinton Street when choosing a spot for its fieldhouse build, but backed off due to environmental concerns and a lack of access to highways for out of town travelers.
Instead, Card & Associates is focusing on 45 acres of land near Interstate-69 in New Haven.
First announced in 2023, the Fields of Grace project promises a 140,000-square-foot fieldhouse with eight outdoor fields for baseball and softball. Construction on the fieldhouse is set to begin this summer, Bunkowfst said. The budget will likely run over $50 million.
The New Haven build will feature outdoor fields, which Fort Wayne’s urban location doesn’t allow for. As to the facility’s ability to draw youth sports tournaments, Bunkowfst said Card & Associates has been partnering with athletics groups in the county—like Parkview Sports Medicine, which operates the SportONE Parkview Fieldhouse and the Empowered Volleyball Academy—to discern what facilities the new fieldhouse should offer.
“We’ve been intentional over the last few years on ensuring that the asset and the inventory we bring to the community complements what’s already there,” said Bunkowfst.
Beyond the sports complex itself, Card & Associates has an additional 100-plus acres of land under option for future development that hopefully will come over the next decade.
While the New Haven project will have at least five indoor courts, Fort Wayne’s North River Fieldhouse proponents believe there’s a need for a facility that has eight or more combination basketball/volleyball courts.
Fort Wayne is budgeting between $50-$60 million for its buildout, but construction is a long way off. Johnson says there’s a March 31 deadline for companies to submit design proposals. Planning out the fieldhouse and possible adjacent housing developments will take the better part of this year and 2026, the city says.
Fort Wayne will own its fieldshouse, but contract with a sports management company to operate it. Card & Associates will both own and operate the New Haven build. Both projects are also requesting funding from the Fort Wayne Allen County Capital Improvement Board.
Despite some level of competition, Bunkowst says he’s open to collaborating with Fort Wayne in the youth sports marketplace. What that looks like, though, is still to be seen.
“There’s definitely synergies between our outdoor component and their indoor component. But I can also tell you that our indoor component was meticulously planned around the existing inventory and partnerships that already exist,” Bunkowfst said.