UPDATE: Entrepreneur proposes $15M youth sports facility in Noblesville

The entrepreneur who led the investment group behind the Jonathan Byrd’s Fieldhouse at Grand Park in Westfield revealed plans Tuesday morning for an approximately $15 million youth sports facility in Noblesville in a deal that would include millions of dollars in long-term subsidies from the city.

Andy Card, CEO of Perkins Global Logistics, said the multi-use project, to be called Noblesville Fieldhouse, would be able to accommodate a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, pickleball and cheerleading.

The facility, proposed for the planned Finch Creek Park on Boden Road, would be about 130,000 square feet, including five hardwood courts, 75,000 square feet of indoor turf and a 10,000-square-foot physical therapy office. (Click on image below for larger view.)

The Noblesville Fieldhouse could open early 2018. (Image courtesy city of Noblesville)

“There will be nothing else like it in the U.S.,” Card said. He and partner Mike Klipsch would own and operate the facility through Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities LLC. They also own and operate Jonathan Byrd's Fieldhouse.

Klipsch-Card purchased 10 acres of land at the 203-acre Finch Creek Park from the city for $1 million.

Noblesville officials referred to the project as a public-private partnership in Tuesday's anouncement.

"We kept hearing time and time again about the need for fields,” Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear said. “And we did listen.”

In a long-term agreement with Klipsch-Card, the city would contribute up to $800,000 annually for the facility. The money would come from property taxes generated by the fieldhouse, user rental fees and tax-increment financing (TIF) revenue.

Under the agreement, the city would be able to rent the fieldhouse during the week to the public.

“By the city having skin in the game, that guarantees that our youth, our sports teams are going to have rental time,” Noblesville Deputy Mayor Steve Cooke said.

The city estimates the fieldhouse could generate $300,000 in property taxes annually, and its rental fees from the public could bring in $300,000. The remaining $200,000 would come from tax dollars generated in the Corporate Campus East TIF district.

“It’s important for the public to understand that $600,000 will come from the facility itself, which is money that is not collected today or used for any other purpose," Cooke said. "If we are able to capture more than $600,000 from those sources, then the $200,000 supplement from the Corporate Campus East TIF would decrease. In the end, the facility nearly pays for itself while the community gains an amazing amenity that we wouldn’t otherwise have gotten on our own.”

Some details have not yet been finalized, including the length of the deal, Cooke said.

"However, a typical real estate deal of this kind is 20 years. If it’s possible to insert a 10-year review of our revenues to determine if the partnership is still viable for the city, we would be open to that discussion," he said.

The Noblesville City Council is expected to consider the agreement at its Dec. 6 meeting.

The city has been in discussions with Klipsch and Card about the project since the spring. Klipsch-Card would own and operate the fieldhouse, as well as market the facility and schedule events.

In addition to the athletic components, the facility would include a concession area and second-level mezzanine balcony for viewing events.

Card expects the fieldhouse to hire 350 part-time employees and 40 full-time staff members.

The fieldhouse project is expected to break ground in the spring, along with the first phase of Finch Creek Park, which would be along the southeast portion of the park property just north of the Blue Ridge Creek neighborhood development on Boden Road.

The first phase of the park is expected to cost $8.9 million. The fieldhouse, which would be separate from the first phase, could open in spring 2018.

Card said he doesn’t expect the Noblesville facility to compete with Jonathan Byrd's Fieldhouse in Westfield, which cost $10 million, because there’s enough demand in the immediate area.

“Where there’s a need, I’m going to build,” Card told IBJ.

The fieldhouse at Grand Park opened in January, with a full schedule of tournaments booked.

Greenwood-based Jonathan Byrd’s secured the naming rights for 10 years, along with concession stand and food court management for an undisclosed amount in July 2015.

Last month, St. Vincent Sports Performance announced plans to open a 4,000-square-foot facility inside the arena to provide strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers and dieticians to athletes and the general public.