It was a festive day on Wednesday for the Utah Baseball program and the entire University of Utah community, as over 150 guests gathered for a construction celebration at the future site of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.
The new home of the Utes began construction earlier this Summer and will be located on Guardsman Way at the former Utah Baseball practice facility. The new field surface is expected to be available for team practice only beginning in Spring 2025, with the facility ready for game competition in the 2026 season.
A lineup of speakers addressed Wednesday's guests before a ceremonial groundbreaking was held. Podium speakers included University President Taylor R. Randall, Director of Athletics Mark Harlan, America First Credit Union President/CEO Thayne Shaffer, Colorado Rockies Owner/General Partner Charlie Monfort and Utah Head Baseball Coach Gary Henderson.
Once the main event program concluded, guests stuck around to enjoy food and light refreshments—all while looking ahead to a new era of Utah Baseball. [Utah Utes]
A proposal for an indoor sports facility at the county-owned Ashton Brosnaham Park calls for a building that’s 100,000 square foot, including 73,000 square feet of open floor space that would be large enough to host eight basketball courts that could be converted into 16 volleyball courts with support space, or it could be used as large exhibition hall for other types of events.
Other key takeaways on the proposed facility:
- 14 acres of the park is flat, open, undeveloped and already zone for recreation
- 700+ paved parking spaces in the current design
- Primary support for hardwood sports and related events
- Open common areas would include meeting spaces, viewing areas, vendor space, concessions, retail space
- Second floor walking track and viewing area
- Open to the public for recreation, will also host tournaments and events
- Collaboration with Escambia County Public Schools on access and utilization
- Community use of facility on non-tournament dates
- Projected operating deficit offset by ~$37 million in economic impact per year
- Projected new tax revenues of ~$2.7 million per year
- Total project cost range: $48 – $61 million. [North Escambia]
At a press conference in Little Rock Wednesday morning, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. announced detailed plans for new projects coming to Little Rock Parks and Recreation. That is, assuming voters pass a 1% sales tax initiative on the November ballot.
This morning, city directors and Little Rock Parks and Recreation staff unveiled the detailed projects, which include indoor and outdoor youth sports complexes as well as overhauled War Memorial and Hindman parks. Both parks, formerly public golf courses, were closed in 2019, shortly after Scott was first elected mayor.
Throughout the press event, city officials continued to stress that the plans they were outlining were contingent on the passage of the “Rebuild the Rock” sales tax increase.
Otherwise, Scott says, “It doesn’t happen. The outdoor sports complex is $55 million. The city cannot afford that solely throughout our budget. The indoor sports complex is around $60 million. This sales tax that encompasses the 'Four P’s' creates somewhere around $65 million annually. If you do a 10-year lookback, that’s somewhere around $620 million. We need this.” [NPR]
Little Rock mayor, Frank Scott Jr. presents initial plans for two new sports complexes in the city.
— Arkansas Outside (@ArkansasOutside) August 29, 2024
Conceptual drawings and a link to the news conference are included in the article.https://t.co/WbYv7n941G
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