Chesterfield Sports Association along with some of the largest volleyball and basketball clubs in the St. Louis region and local sports complex developer Mia Rose Holdings are uniting to bring a state-of-the-art indoor volleyball and basketball complex to St. Louis.
The multi-court, 97,000-square-foot fieldhouse has received zoning approval in Chesterfield Valley on Eatherton Road near St. Louis Premium Outlets. As the largest youth volleyball and basketball facility in St. Louis, it will attract an estimated 900,000 visitors each year to its clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments. More than 1,000 athletes will practice, train and play games there each week. Construction will begin in the fall of 2021 and the target opening is September of 2022.
Chesterfield Sports Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, will own and operate the facility, which will fill a major need for court space in St. Louis.
The primary tenants and partners are:
- High Performance – STL, the largest volleyball club in the region with more than 1,000 athletes, 90 teams and 10,000 annual tournament participants;
- Stratman Sports, the largest club volleyball tournament and junior league organizer in the region hosting more than 600 teams throughout every season;
- Missouri Phenom Basketball, a youth development club on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit with 40 teams in Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis;
- CNR Basketball, the largest basketball league organizer in the region, which schedules over 12,000 games annually and runs league games and tournaments during the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall seasons. A full 85 percent of CNR’s teams are within 25 minutes of the new complex.
Nine basketball courts will convert to 18 volleyball courts and be equipped with Olympic level flooring, professional grade LED lighting and HD/4K streaming cameras. Additional amenities include a fitness area; multipurpose rooms for team rooms, meetings, and classes; comfortable spectator seating courtside and from a second-floor mezzanine; lounge areas and concessions. The architect is mw Weber Architects.
The fieldhouse will offer the full range of youth sport services and amenities to develop student athletes to meet their fullest potential. CSA plans to work with local organizations to offer community health and wellness programs and will partner with physical therapists and orthopedic specialists to assist with athletes’ conditioning and training.
While 80 percent of available court time will be used by the current primary partners, more than 10,000 hours of court time is available a year. CSA is in talks with potential major university partners and other organizations to offer daytime programming. Chesterfield Sports Association is seeking partners and donors who are dedicated to growing and supporting youth athletics in St. Louis in exchange for facility naming opportunities and other recognition. In addition to hosting volleyball and basketball clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments, the facility could be used for pickleball, futsal, wrestling, dance, cheer and other sports as space is available.
Most indoor basketball and volleyball facilities in St. Louis are operated by private and public schools and municipal governments. These facilities have significant limitations and liability concerns for hosting outside players and organizations, which has only increased during the coronavirus pandemic. None of the larger existing indoor court facilities was designed for volleyball and basketball, and many are 30 to 40 years old with failing infrastructure, poor ventilation systems, insufficient lighting, substandard flooring, insufficient seating and inadequate dimensions for safe and enjoyable play.
Due to the lack of safe and adequate facilities locally, local basketball and volleyball clubs currently must use multiple locations to meet their needs and tournament organizers turn to bigger venues in other Midwestern cities. In fact, Gateway Region Volleyball, the local chapter of USA Volleyball, has needed to move several large weekend events from local facilities to Cape Girardeau’s new 12-court facility over two hours away.
A major economic driver, the sports complex will generate jobs for coaches, referees, trainers, concession and maintenance workers, and will bring local and out-of-town guests to the area to generate economic activity for local restaurants, hotels and retail establishments. CSA is purchasing land for potential future expansion.