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A new youth sports complex geared toward women athletes is in the works in Indiana, with the project’s first phase set to receive extensive state and county financial support.
The $98 million, three-phase project known as Marvella is expected to occupy 120 acres at Fair Oaks Farms, on the eastern edge of Newton County in northwest Indiana. The project will include 300,000 square feet of buildings, numerous turf fields and courts for basketball, volleyball, flag football, lacrosse and soccer, and a multi-purpose arena for championship events.
The sprawling development will also provide training facilities, educational programming, physical and mental health support, an expansive media center and a museum focused on Indiana’s role in the passage of Title IX, a federal law established in 1972 that bolstered funding for women’s sports.
Marvella, created by brothers Glenn and Lou Tilley, is named in honor of Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh’s late wife who inspired the creation of Title IX.
The project includes the involvement of outgoing Indiana Fever President Allison Barber, who will oversee the not-for-profit component of Marvella, along with former Fever star player and executive Tamika Catchings in an advisory role. Suzy Kolber, a longtime anchor and analyst for ESPN, will oversee digital communications for the project. Billie Jean King Enterprises is also involved in the endeavor.
Marvella is set to receive $4 million through the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, along with $4.5 million in redevelopment tax credits. It will also receive $5 million from Newton County for the project. The READI funding was announced Thursday afternoon during the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s quarterly meeting in Vincennes.
Construction on the $38 million first phase of the project is expected to begin later this year and will largely consist of an indoor athletic facility with eight basketball courts (that can also be used for volleyball), as well as a training center for skills development and athletic training needs. The first phase is expected to open by spring 2026.
The second phase will be the development of a leadership and health and wellness center through which Marvella plans to offer educational programming, a speaker series and media room, plus six outdoor turf fields and an immersive women’s sports museum.
The final phase of the project will be the construction of a 5,000-seat indoor arena for championship events, tournament games, concerts and other events, along with six additional outdoor fields.
The development is expected to create 1,000 jobs, the state said.
“Right now, Indiana is riding a wave of momentum in women’s sports,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in written remarks. “It’s important we don’t take our foot off the gas and that we continue to tap into our state’s strength in sports. This is a project to keep your eyes on, and I’m certainly excited to see the impact of this facility on our communities and future leaders, our state and our leading sports ecosystem.”
Marvella President Glenn Tilley, who previously led Ripken Baseball and is also CEO of sports advisory firm The Champions Network, said the project’s location at Fair Oaks Farms is a “strategic move” that will allow the facility to serve more than 900,000 young women participating in sports in Indiana and Illinois. The site is about 65 miles south of Chicago and about 100 miles north of Indianapolis.
We are thrilled to create a beautiful space where women and girls can reach their full athletic potential,” Tilley said in written remarks. “Marvella is more than just a sports complex; it’s a community hub dedicated to empowering the next generation of female leaders. Our aim is to impact and reach all individuals, regardless of their background, by offering athletes and their families a distinctive experience rooted in sports that fosters the well-being of the mind, body, and soul.”
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I wonder if there will be a special transexual housing unit?
Is your manhood feeling threatened?
Congratulations on such a great endeavor! Will there be an outreach opportunity to include local business participation?
Thanks!
Gwen
Great to see another project dividing us up by gender, race, etc. Maybe they can help out by getting the language changed to capitalize “Women” and lower-case “men.” That would be awesome, and in keeping.
We white men did that dividing generations ago…only we didn’t do it to lift up women and racial minorities…we did it to suppress. Not sure how that persists today? Well, just go ask the kicker for the KC Chiefs.
Think about how long its taken the Halls of Fame to introduce sections for women sports stars. Think about how the women’s soccer team had to take serious action to be paid as much for their Olympic and other game appearances as men.
Now, thanks to folks like Marvella Bayh, Wilma Rudolph, Billy Jean King, and many others, women have a place in sports, and soon will have a place to go celebrate. Good luck.
Augusta was okay, though…
This is a waste! Its ok they are thinking about building things but this isn’t needed for the state. Just Wasting money cloutchasin!
This location is 30 miles from nowhere. That makes no sense. And very few hotels, restaurants, of entertainment in the area. Travel teams are attracted to urban areas, not cornfields.
Michael D: any chance you’ve driven near Westfield, or more specifically US 31 and IN 32 lately? Westfield was 30 miles from nowhere. Or at least 15. Now, with Grand Park, its become its own place. Its not an urban location; its barely suburban. With thousands, if not tens of thousands, of travel team players each year. In the immortal words of Field of Dreams, if you build it they will come…
Driven past the Fair Oaks facility lately? It’s become huge. And they have a hotel already. And lots of open ground. Everything you need to build a place for the people to come.
totally agree with you. I see someone mentioned Grand Park and Westfield….well, Westfield was never “the middle of nowhere”…it’s literally on the edge of Carmel, Noblesville and Zionsville, less than 40 min from downtown Indianapolis and less than 30 min from most of Fishers. I am not saying that I don’t like the idea of a female focused sports campus but that area around Fair Oaks??? The closest hotels, besides the small one on their campus, are over 30 minutes away. I’m just not sure this makes sense financially, especially if it’s truly just for women’s sports teams.
I realize this is just IBJ pandering to their fellow Democrats, but what makes a sports complex “woman focused” and why is it needed?
Are women banned from Grand Park? Exactly what details of a sports complex make it woman focused?
This doesn’t matter until the State Legislature starts treating women like people who deserve respect and dignity.