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by Abigail Taylor | News Channel 3
TOPICS:
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kalamazoo County could soon be home to a state-of-the-art youth sports complex, designed to bring basketball and volleyball tournaments to the region, promising to transform the region’s sports tourism industry while providing new opportunities for local youth.
Brian Persky, Director of Business Development at Discover Kalamazoo told News Channel 3 that he has been spearheading the effort for nearly three years, aiming to provide a major boost to the local economy by tapping into a booming market of youth sports tourism.
“About 80% of our sports tourism groups [are] in five sports—wrestling, ice hockey, ice skating, soccer, and tennis,” said Persky. “But when we studied the sports with the highest participation levels, we found that basketball and volleyball were being overlooked. We weren’t capturing any of that. In a lot of cases, these kids were leaving our community to play in tournaments.”
The plan calls for at least eight basketball courts and 16 volleyball courts, providing what Persky said is much-needed space for local teams and tournaments.
“In our eyes, it’s a win-win for local programs and for sports tourism. We can keep those people and those dollars in our community,” Persky added.
This new center would fill a gap in youth sports infrastructure in the region, as there are no comparable facilities within an hour and a half of Kalamazoo. The closest facilities are in Brighton and Mishawaka, Indiana, according to Persky.
“We’re really trying to be the first ones to do this and get something going sooner rather than later,” said Persky.
The facility would primarily serve as a tournament venue on weekends, with additional space during the week for local programs to expand.
Persky stated that the new center is not intended to compete with other regional facilities, such as the Courthouse Athletic Center in Portage, but rather offer something entirely new to West Michigan.
“We think it can complement what they’re doing out there. We’ve had conversations with the Courthouse, and they’ve told us themselves that there are limits to what they can do,” said Persky, noting that ceiling height restrictions and a focus on local programs limit the Courthouse’s ability to host large tournaments.
While the exact location of the new facility is yet to be determined, a thorough site selection process has already been completed.
“We started with over 30 potential locations and narrowed it down to a top three,” Persky said. However, no decision can be made until an authority is created at the county level, a process expected to take place in April and be completed by May.
Persky said the goal is to have the facility up and rolling by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
