By Ally Azzarelli
Every city leader planning a new sports complex asks some version of the same question: how do you build something that draws tournaments and travel teams without shutting out the families who live down the street? That question anchored a recent Sports Facilities Companies (SFC) webinar on designing outdoor multi-use fields and spaces, where three of our team’s veteran planners walked through real projects and the design decisions that made the difference.
Jim Arnold, Partner and National Director of Business Development, hosted the conversation with Mike Mays, Senior Project Manager of Development Services, and Todd Yancey, Senior Vice President of Operations. Between them, they’ve touched hundreds of sports and recreation projects nationwide. Here’s a recap of the biggest takeaways and why they matter if your community is weighing a similar investment.
Key Takeaways
Here’s the short version if you’re weighing a similar investment for your community:
- Design has to follow programming. Defining who a venue serves and how it runs day to day, before drawing a single line, is what keeps a facility operating profitably after it opens.
- Traffic flow and access points matter as much as field count. Multiple entrances, dedicated service roads, and independent credentialing keep tournament traffic, staff traffic, and everyday community access from colliding.
- Tight sites and modest budgets can still produce standout venues by building around a clear concept instead of chasing the maximum number of fields.
- Concessions are typically the largest revenue line in a park, and food quality now plays as big a role in guest satisfaction as the games themselves.
- Shade, landscaping, and infrastructure like Wi-Fi and low-voltage wiring pay off more when they’re planned in from day one rather than added after the fact.
Program-driven Design Comes First, Every Time
Arnold opened with the idea that shapes every project SFC touches: design has to follow programming, not the other way around. Before a single line gets drawn, the owner and design team need a shared answer to what the venue is actually for, who it serves, and how it will run day to day.
Skip that step, and you can end up with a beautiful facility that nobody can operate profitably. We’ve written about this same principle in the context of multi-purpose facility design, and it holds true whether you’re building six fields or sixty.
A Chicago Suburb Proves Flexibility Pays Off
Mays used the Wintrust Crossroads Sports Complex in New Lenox, Illinois, as the first case study. The team built in multiple points of entry, a service road that keeps staff and umpire traffic separate from guest parking, and a roundabout to cut down on stop-and-go congestion during tournament transitions.
A restaurant, bar, and open lawn were added specifically to generate revenue in the winter months, when this seasonal outdoor venue can’t run games. Warm-up zones tucked into the circulation paths let teams stretch and loosen up before taking the field, something Mays pointed out most multi-field complexes overlook entirely.
One detail worth flagging for anyone worried about field markings: instead of painting permanent multi-color lines for every sport, the team uses robot line painters with small alignment marks built into the turf.
Yancey noted permanent multi-color lines have caused real problems at other venues, including for a colorblind player who couldn’t distinguish them. A robot can stripe a full soccer field in about 30 minutes, then scrub it clean for the next event.
A Small Florida Site Turns Constraints Into a Concept
Not every project has a big budget or an ideal parcel, and Mays’s second case study made that point directly. Sprowls Horizon Sports Park in Pinellas Park, Florida, came with a $26.5 million public budget, a 40-acre site, an unbuildable utility easement, and existing roadways to design around.
Instead of chasing maximum field count, the team leaned into a concept: six fields modeled after actual Florida spring training stadiums, complete with a tiki bar and central plaza, giving youth baseball and softball players a taste of an experience usually reserved for high schoolers and up. The park sold out its first year of tournament bookings.
Splitting a Campus Without Splitting the Community
Yancey walked through Ontario Sports Empire in Ontario, California, a 190-acre project opening later this year that’s designed to host a rectangular-sport tournament on one side and a diamond-sport tournament on the other or combine them into one massive event. The design detail that stood out most was the credentialing setup.
Independent checkpoints for each side mean a family from the neighborhood can walk into the central plaza or destination playground without paying a tournament entry fee, even while a national event runs a few hundred feet away. As Yancey put it, that kind of layout “allows it to be a community asset as well as an economic engine.” The complex will also feature a 150-foot by 51-foot video screen, one of the largest of its kind at a youth sports facility anywhere in the country.
That same balance shows up at Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Collier County, Florida, where a branded public space called The Cove hosts more than 200 events a year, everything from July 4th festivals to Chamber of Commerce nights, right alongside the tournament fields. If you want a deeper look at how multi-sport campuses drive both tourism and local access, our post on multi-sport athletic complexes covers the same ground in more depth.
Technology and Food Service Are Catching Up Fast
Yancey spent time on where facility technology is heading: automated ball-strike systems and smart-field metrics on the diamond side, largely because the pipeline of umpires is shrinking. Streaming is now a baseline expectation, which means Wi-Fi and low-voltage infrastructure need to be planned into the design from day one, not bolted on afterward.
Food and beverage got its own spotlight, and for good reason. Arnold pointed out that concessions should be the single largest revenue line in most parks, and quality is what separates a good experience from a bad one.
One recent event saw acai bowls account for 6 to 8 percent of total food and beverage revenue, proof that guest expectations have moved past hot dogs and nachos. Grab-and-go and market-style setups are helping venues manage staffing shortages, and some parks, including Paradise Coast, now operate their own food truck as a portable, built-in revenue source. For more ideas on turning F&B into steady income, see our post on maximizing revenue in your sports complex.
The Fundamentals Still Decide Who Wins
For all the talk of technology and amenities, Mays circled back to basics that never go out of style: right-sized parking, clear wayfinding, designated pedestrian crossings, restroom counts built for peak event days rather than code minimums, and sports lighting with cloud-based controls. Safety measures like single points of entry, security cameras, and PA systems for weather or emergency alerts round out the list.
Shade and landscaping got a special callout, mostly because they’re usually the first thing cut when budgets tighten. Mays and Arnold pushed back on that instinct, noting that a well-planned landscaping investment made early, rather than as an afterthought, is one of the clearest ways a facility sets itself apart from the venue down the road.
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What's Coming Next for Outdoor Sports Facilities
The panel closed with quick predictions: more regional tournament play alongside national events, growth in rentable VIP experiences like air-conditioned suites, and a continued push toward “wow factor” amenities as competition among youth sports venues heats up. Public-private funding partnerships also came up repeatedly, with the panel noting there’s no single template. Every deal gets built around what the public side needs in impact and access, and what the private side needs in return.
FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions
What does “program-driven design” mean for a sports complex?
It means defining who the venue serves and how it will operate day to day before any design work begins, so the finished facility can run profitably instead of just looking good on paper.
How much does it cost to build a multi-use outdoor sports complex?
Cost depends heavily on site conditions, acreage, and program scope. The projects in this recap ranged from a $26.5 million public budget on a compact 40-acre site to large-scale campuses approaching 200 acres.
How can one facility serve both competitive tournaments and everyday residents?
Independent credentialing and separate checkpoints let ticketed tournament areas and free public spaces, like a central plaza or playground, operate side by side without residents paying a tournament entry fee.
What generates the most revenue at a sports complex?
Concessions typically account for the largest single revenue line in most parks, with grab-and-go, market-style, and food-truck formats helping venues meet guest expectations while managing staffing shortages.
What should municipalities prioritize when planning a new sports facility?
Right-sized parking, clear wayfinding, restroom counts built for peak event days, sports lighting with cloud-based controls, and early investment in shade and landscaping.
If your city or county is weighing a new sports, recreation, or event venue, or trying to get more out of an existing one, this is exactly the kind of planning conversation our team has every day. Watch the full webinar recording for the complete discussion, including the live Q&A on public-private partnerships and sports medicine partnerships that didn’t make it into this recap.
Ready to talk through what’s possible for your community? Explore our sports facility planning and management services. Call our team at 727-474-3845, or request a free consultation, and we’ll be in touch.
