LEBANON, Ind. (WISH) — The Lebanon city government broke ground Tuesday on the Hickory Junction sports complex, which is modeled after Grand Park Sports Campus in nearby Westfield.
The facility will be off State Road 39 and I-65 on what the site of what used to be an Holiday Inn hotel.
Mayor Matt Gentry said about the project, “Felt like it made a lot of sense. Draw people into Lebanon and show them the great community we have here.”
The 270,000-square-foot field house will host youth sports events from around the region.
The Republican mayor said that the facility will have “lots of opportunities for partnerships, but then, because these facilities are multiuse, you can do basketball, volleyball. You can do two full-size football fields. You can do baseball, softball on them; lacrosse.”
Eventually retail stores, offices, apartments and restaurants will spring up around the field house. The mayor estimates the project will attract 6,000 visitors a year to Lebanon.
Danielle Hoffman who opened her business That Sports Bar in 2019 gave her opinion about the project. “I think if you are going to a sporting event in town and you are looking to go eat and drink — maybe not with your kids, because we are not family-friendly — why not come to That Sports Bar.”
The entire project is estimated to cost $400 million, including $115 million for the fieldhouse. The mayor said revenue generated from hotel, food and beverage taxes will help pay for the facility.
The developer is also paying a property tax on the field house that will help defray costs.
Hoffman said, “With all growth there is going to be complications, but those are not going to outweigh all the positives that are going to happen. I think we will fix those complications.”
Construction on the project is expected to finish in the spring 2024.