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The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse opened earlier this month in Lebanon, making the city the latest Indiana community to seek a share of the $19 billion youth sports industry.
The $31 million, 200,000-square-foot fieldhouse developed by Noblesville-based Card & Associates Athletic Facilities has already hosted two volleyball tournaments, a sneaker sale, pickleball games and pickup basketball.
The fieldhouse, located at 505 S. State Road 39, just south of Interstate 65 Exit 139 at the new Hickory Junction development, opened Feb. 9 and features eight basketball courts, 12 pickleball courts, one turf field, and pitching and hitting tunnels.
Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry announced plans for The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse in October 2021. The site was previously home to a Holiday Inn Holidome that was razed in 2012.
Sports offered at the facility will be baseball, basketball, football, pickleball, soccer and softball. There are also plans to add golf simulators and a weight room.
The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse is Card & Associates’ latest youth sports facility in central Indiana. The company previously developed Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, Finch Creek Fieldhouse in Noblesville and Community Sports and Wellness in Pendleton.
“What we’ve done in Westfield, Noblesville and Pendleton in our current facilities, we’re trying to replicate that here,” said Mason Hankins, president of The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse, who previously worked for five years at Pacers Athletic Center. “Obviously, we want to be the best facility of the four.”
Hankins said GoTime Basketball, an in-house program organized by Vice President Jack O’Flaherty, will have basketball leagues this spring and summer for children from kindergarten to ninth grade.
The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, a basketball circuit for AAU basketball travel teams, will hold a tournament at The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse from May 17-19, and shoe brands Puma and Under Armor will host their own basketball events.
The fieldhouse is partnering with X-Factor Sports Performance & QB Academy to handle football programming. X-Factor currently operates at Pro X Athlete Development, a 60,000-square-foot sports complex in Westfield.
Indy Youth Basketball League, which is owned and operated by Pacers Athletic Center and consists of more than 600 teams, will use the fieldhouse on a weekly basis.
“A lot of these kids learn a lot of great lessons and find out a lot about themselves,” Hankins said. “We’ve seen many obtain basketball, football, baseball scholarships. Obviously, that’s a great goal, but these kids learn so much that they can just apply to their daily lives, future careers and school.”
Hankins said pickleball is the only membership-based component at The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse, while anybody can participate in basketball open gyms.
Hankins said The Farmers Bank signed a “multi-year” naming-rights deal, but he declined to provide financial details about the agreement.
The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse is the centerpiece facility of Card & Associates’ 95-acre Hickory Junction development that will feature luxury apartments developed by Greensboro, North Carolina-based Bel Canto that will open this year. Hotels, restaurants and retail will be built in the coming years.
Card & Associates estimates Hickory Junction will have a $75 million annual economic impact with 35,000 hotel-room bookings and 1.5 million visitors per year.
Hankins said Card & Associates owns the land at Hickory Junction. The company will sell land to developers who want to build the additional businesses and facilities.
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