Multi-use sports site for Adams County is being evaluated

A feasibility study for a non-profit sports center – named Adams County Rec Plex – that would serve everyone in the county, but especially youth, is underway.

The large facility would offer indoor space for a variety of sports, plus plenty of parking, according to a computer-created picture on the cover of a full-color brochure. There would also be room for outdoor events, too.

The brochure lists these activities as possibles for the site: splash pad, basketball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, fitness, indoor walking on a track, pickleball, playground and Tot Lot for the very young, special needs playground, multi-sensory center, dodgeball, and skate park.

Community activities that could be held there, says the brochure, include sports tournaments, school practices, camps, birthday parties, after-school activities, business conferences, classes, picnics, reunions, Youth for Christ events, company picnics, graduation celebrations, conventions, church gatherings, Special Olympics events, family Olympics, and facility rentals. Musical events could also be held there.

The four-page brochure declares, “If we want a better tomorrow for our youth, families, and community, we MUST continue making Adams County the best it possibly can be.”

The publication goes on to say, “An exciting vision for our community has been laid upon our hearts for the development of a multi-purpose recreational facility.

“This will be a not-for-profit facility. All revenue and proceeds will go to improving the facility, its programs, and our community. This facility will

not only improve quality of life in our community, but will also contribute to improving our economy as well

“Throughout Adams County, there have been incredible improvements and hard work being put forth to making our community the best it can be. We see this project as being a positive compliment to the amazing momentum already going on and another piece of the puzzle that will help Adams County reach its maximum potential.”

A meeting about the Rec Plex was held on March 1 in Decatur, with a presentation by William Knox Sr., president and chief executive officer of Legacy Sports Group (LSG) in Westfield, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis.

Knox said his firm has assisted in creating well over 20 athletic sites across Indiana, but this one – because of the expansiveness of its stated goals – would be unique for LSG.

He also and told a crowd of about 30 people in the Adams County Service Complex that he and two members of his staff conducted five meetings the day before with numerous stakeholders here. After the meeting, the LSG trio left for an afternoon session with students at South Adams High School in Berne.

Coni Mayer, executive director of the Adams County Community Foundation, introduced Knox and pointed out that the Rec Plex would burnish the quality of life locally via sports, education, and better overall health for all who use it.

She added that there is no location picked for the Rec Plex, but that funding for it would be achieved if there’s enough public interest. Mayer made clear that not all the financing would be by grants, since she also wants “local buy-in” with donations, fundraisers, etc.

Those who want to take an online survey about the Rec Plex should contact this website – Adams County Rec Plex – and click on the survey link.

E-mails may be sent to this address: adamsrecplex@gmail.com

Knox said LSG has received 250 survey responses and has a goal of getting 1,000 from county residents. He will make a full report in April.

Knox spoke of creating “a long-term vision” for sporting and health-improving amenities and said LSG will apply for grants in April. Mayer said a grant from the very large Lilly Endowment at Indianapolis would be one possible monetary source for “sustainability.”

Christina Coats of Decatur is the chairwoman of the group organized for Rec Plex, and said at the meeting that the aim is to provide a place for many people, mostly young, to have events and fun, while interacting with others, but there would also be benefits for improved physical and mental health for everyone taking advantage of the offerings.

If the Rec Plex succeeds, it could encourage the building of hotels and restaurants nearby, Coats added. She spoke about Angola by saying that three volleyball courts were built there and use grew so quickly that it led to building two hotels and two restaurants for tournaments in that city.

Coats is a local volleyball coach and the mother of four, so she said she understands what youngsters want.

Another speaker was Jill Colclasure, a member of the North Adams Community Schools Board and the mother of an autistic child. She said her child would benefit from Rec Plex, but also took note of the fine work done for many years by the Agape Respite Center in Berne. Her view is the Rec Plex would do similar good work like Agape, even involving educational classes for people of all ages.

Mayer said there are 1,200 to 1,450 local children who are coached in varied sports during summers locally and they could easily use additional space.

An indoor facility would also be a boon during bad weather and in winter.

As Mayer stated, “Value Adams County.”

Decatur Mayor Dan Rickord was at the meeting and suggested a partnership between the city and the county, while Knox said he’s worked with many public-private partnerships.

The mayor described the Rec Plex as a “transformational” concept.

Nate Rumschlag, a Decatur resident, suggested that a natatorium – featuring an olympic-sized swimming pool – should be added to the Rec Plex plans, since the pools at the county’s three high schools are not olympic-sized. The nearest olympic-style pool is at Jay County High School, he said.

Knox said he received a few questions about a pool during the day-before stakeholder sessions, so he would look into that idea.

County commissioner Steve Bailey said the athletic directors of all three school systems support Rec Plex and provided lists of the needs of their students to the proposed facility’s committee.

Coats said she grew up in Auburn, where there were two YMCAs. There is no YMCA in Adams County, but Bluffton has one.

She commented that the number of young people wishing to play basketball in the county is “bursting at the seams” at schools.

Mayer brought up the very busy quartet of baseball/softball fields built several years ago in a park at Monroe, thanks to the efforts of Adams County philanthropist Louise Ray and others, citing it as an example of sports popularity, especially during summer.

While the placement of the Rec Plex has not yet been determined, Mayor Rickord said if it is in Decatur, “this could change our whole city. I’d love to see this happen.”

Berne Mayor Gregg Sprunger was also at the meeting and declared that the Rec Plex “is needed in the county wherever it’s located.”