FORT WAYNE – One of the biggest surprises – and announcements – from Mayor Tom Henry’s State of the City address had little to do with city government at all.
Henry announced the development of a nearly $7 million sports complex to be constructed near the Lutheran Health Sports Center at the intersection of Fernhill Avenue, Wells Street and Lima Road.
RCI Development of Fort Wayne will build the 57,000-square-foot structure that will be called the Sport ONE/Parkview Fieldhouse, according to a rendering provided to The Journal Gazette.
The building will be a full-service volleyball complex that will include a training center, locker rooms, weight rooms, a restaurant and room for 12 volleyball courts, Henry said, while touting it as an example of the growth in private investment in the community.
“The complex is expected to draw athletes and teams from all over the country, and it will help train our local athletes as well,” he said.
Todd Ramsey, with RCI, said the project was spurred by the success of the neighboring ice complex he helped create. The $14 million project provided space for three indoor sheets of ice that have been used heavily by local and regional skaters, he said. After that success, other groups began asking for space and it made sense to build nearby, according to Ramsey.
“It all started from the hockey,” he said.
Ramsey said the new building will have space for volleyball but could also be used for gymnastics, wrestling and even basketball if Spiece Fieldhouse needs overflow space.
The new project has no public incentives other than a tax abatement to help ease in its property taxes, Ramsey said. It is likely to be completed in late September. Canlan Ice Sports, based in Burnaby, British Columbia, operates the ice complex, and Ramsey said his group is interviewing firms to run the volleyball building.
