Largest Youth Baseball Facility in U.S. Coming to Mooresville
America’s Park LLC announced that it will build and open the largest youth baseball facility in the U.S. in Mooresville by 2013. The park will host 8-13 year old baseball players from around the country and their families as they participate in America’s game.
“This will be one of the most significant youth sports development projects in the country,” said Chris Carney, Town of Mooresville Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tem. “It will not only have a major impact on our economy, but also on the kids who get to play in the park. We welcome them to Mooresville.”
America’s Park officials project that the facility will bring about 80,000 players, coaches and family members to Mooresville each year during the summer months. The park will host week-long tournaments for 12 weeks from June through August.
“The real winner here is youth baseball,” said Lou Presutti, principal in America’s Park and founder of Cooperstown Dreams Park. The new park will allow more teams to play in a family friendly environment patterned from the Cooperstown facility which turns away some 3,000 teams of 12 year-olds a year.
America’s Park will draw teams from all over the U.S. to play in the week-long tournaments. The demographics show that there are currently 120,000 11 year-old All Star teams in the U.S. In addition, there are about 126,000 youth baseball leagues in America and each league has an All Star team at each age level. As a result, there are 252,000 11-12 year old All Star Teams each year, according to statistics provided by America’s Park.
Participation at America’s Park will generate an estimated 80-100,000 hotel room nights a year, said Mooresville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Board Chairman Ron Johnson. This project will use hotel rooms in Mooresville and Statesville in Iredell County and possibly north Mecklenburg County.
“America’s Park will have an extremely positive impact on our hotels in the region as well as the many small businesses in the area,” Johnson said. “This is a perfect example of how youth sports can be a good economic development tool.”
America’s Park estimates that $1.2 billion is spent annually in the U.S. on youth baseball and softball.
The park’s county-wide impact makes it a unique development for the County. “This project is different from what we are use to working with,” said Ken Robertson, Iredell County Commissioner. “However, its positive and sizeable economic impact is far reaching and will provide a much needed shot in the arm to our economy.”
The baseball park will have 25 lighted ball fields, 60 cabins, a laundry facility, dining hall and concession stands, said Todd Hines, America’s Park principal. “These facilities will be top of their class and the players will play on some of the best fields in the country. The facilities will be family and fan friendly and will represent the purity of baseball.”
The facility will cost an estimated $20 million dollars to build and will be located on 170 acres of land off of Rankin Hill Road. “This project could not have happened without the cooperation of many organizations,” Hines said. “The property owner – Jeff Cernuto of Princeton Management – saw the value of our project to the community and the local businesses and cooperated well beyond a traditional development deal.”
“In fact, the Town of Mooresville, Iredell County, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the South Iredell Community Development Corporation showed great insight and flexibility to make this happen,” Hines said. “We have been looking around the country for a site this past year. This community and its partners utilized teamwork and cooperation to put together a package that made sense for us and the community. Their can do attitude was critical to us locating in Mooresville.”
The South Iredell Community Development Corporation Board of Directors Chairman, Woody Washam, said, “our organization has enjoyed a long, positive growth relationship with the Town and the County that has resulted in two industrial parks being built that have added quality jobs and investment to the community. This project is unique and different from our typical involvement, however, we are confident that it will also have a very positive economic impact and we are pleased to be able to play a role in attracting America’s Park to Mooresville.”
Mooresville and South Iredell County also had numbers in their favor. More than 60% of youth baseball players live within a 10 hour drive of Mooresville. The climate is conducive for extended play from mid-March through mid-November. Mooresville is located in close proximity to the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and 90 miles from Greensboro Airport.
Hines is a Mooresville resident while Presutti lives in Salisbury, N.C. Presutti’s Cooperstown Dreams Park organization is headquartered in Salisbury. “I am thrilled to be able to locate this park in Mooresville, my home town,” Hines said. “The park will be good for the many small businesses in the area, it will provide our youth and retirees with summer employment, and it will be good for area kids.”
Mooresville Town Board Member, Mitch Abraham agrees with Hines. “This is one of those projects that come along once in a million years,” Abraham said. “It took a lot of hard work from many people and contributions from multiple groups to make it happen. I’m pleased about the cooperation in our community that has resulted in attracting America’s Park which will drive benefits to us for generations to come.”
“The residents of Mooresville passed a referendum for more recreation a few years ago and the Town Board has made great progress in delivering quality public parks,” said Mitch Abraham, Town Board member. “In addition to being a national attraction, America’s Park has agreed to run and host our recreation baseball program which will give every Mooresville youth a chance to play on the nicest fields in the country.”