Sports event planners always look for top-quality facilities for their games, and many destinations throughout the United States have either recently opened the doors to a new facility or will shortly. We reached out to some of these destinations, from Georgia to Kentucky and beyond, to learn what their new locations have to offer.
Madisonville–Hopkins County Sportsplex – Madisonville, Ky.
The Madisonville–Hopkins County Sportsplex, having opened earlier this year, boasts 90,000 square feet of indoor space. Several configurations are available various indoor sporting events including basketball, volleyball, pickleball, indoor soccer, and flag football.
The Sportsplex will include:
- Six basketball courts
- 22 pickleball courts
- 12 volleyball courts
- An indoor turf field for indoor soccer and flag football (it also has two t-ball fields marked)
- Two event rooms
- A conference room
- Indoor batting cages
- A concession area
The facility will be used for local recreational leagues and open play as well as hosting bigger tournaments.
The Classic Center Arena – Athens, Ga.
Once complete later this year, The Classic Center Arena will aim to be northeast Georgia’s premier event facility. It will have 5,635 permanent seats with the capacity to hold up to 8,500 people along with the ability to transform for any occasion from concerts and sports tournaments to trade shows and general sessions. Built into the fabric of downtown Athens, The Classic Center Arena will echo the energy of the college town along with walkable access to hotels.
The Classic Center Arena is versatile and can host many different sports events. Its features include:
- Three basketball courts
- Six volleyball courts
- 140 trade show booths
- Six trailer load-in docks
- An ice hockey floor
- Six locker rooms
- Concessions and bars
- 120-ft by 260-ft arena floor
- 5,635 permanent seats
- 6,500 for end-stage concert
- 8,500 in-the-round
Downtown Athens has easy access to more than 20 desirable hotels, including several properties just steps from The Classic Center Arena.
“The Classic Center is a one-stop-shop, making event planning in our facility feel like a breeze,” says Paul Cramer, president and CEO at The Classic Center. “We offer an in-house facility planner, housing bureau, and registration services with all of our bookings. We also have a partnership with an in-house world-renowned caterer, Levy, ready to provide meals for groups of all sizes.”
17th Street Park – Sarasota, Fla.
17th Street Park is a 96-acre park which is currently undergoing a $65 million refurbishment. The new and improved facility is on track to become a premiere destination for regional and national tournaments, offering fields for youth and adult sports that athletes and coaches can play on year-round thanks to the area’s warm, sunny weather.
The complex, set to open in 2025, features:
- Eight collegiate softball fields, including a championship field complete with a press box and berm seating
- Four synthetic turf multipurpose fields
- Eight covered batting cage tunnels
- Bullpens at each team’s dugout
- Amenities include shade for spectators, a ticket window, umpire and staff changing and restrooms, and meeting rooms
- Plans for the park also include a food truck staging area with hookups
“This premier facility, coupled with Sarasota County’s renowned hospitality offerings, will provide an exceptional sporting experience and we look forward to welcoming athletes, coaches, and fans from across the U.S.,” says Sarasota County parks, recreation, and natural resources director Nicole Rissler.
USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation & Hal & Berni Hanson Regional Park – Loudoun, Va.
The USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation will be building a new tennis campus in Loudoun County, Va.—one of the most thriving communities in the region. Not only will this tennis campus offer a transformative upgrade of indoor and outdoor facilities for players at every level, but the campus will also serve as the new USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation headquarters.
The site will feature:
- 20 outdoor tennis courts
- Eight outdoor pickleball courts
- 10 indoor tennis courts
- 12 indoor pickleball courts
- The 3,500-seat Stadium Center Court
The facility is set to open in 2026.
Loudoun is also home to the Hal & Berni Hanson Regional Park. The original owner of the land—Haldore “Hal” Hanson, a writer, U.S. State Department official, and nonprofit leader—died in 1992. In keeping with the wishes of Hanson and his wife Berni, the Hanson Family Partnership agreed to sell the land to Loudoun County only for use as a park.
The 257-acre regional park features:
- 11 multi-purpose fields including two turf championship fields with stadium seating and press boxes
- Four baseball/softball fields, batting cages, and a cricket pitch
- Eight pickleball and four tennis courts
- A disc golf course
- A skate plaza
Additional amenities include picnic pavilions, two dog parks, a splash pad, a playground with a rubberized surface, and The Lodge with meeting space.
“Visit Loudoun recently hosted the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships, which had an $8.3 million economic impact for our destination and was one of the largest tournaments we have secured,” Visit Loudoun president and CEO Beth Erickson says. “We were able to attract an event like this thanks to our state-of-the-art fields and parks like the new Hal and Bernie Hanson Regional Park. Having these facilities helps position Loudoun as a prime destination for sports tournaments.”
Meritus Park – Hagerstown, Md.
The new Meritus Park opened its doors for a grand opening on May 13, 2024. Since then, it has become a hub for the Hagerstown community, hosting sports events such as high school games and becoming the home of the local Flying Boxcars baseball team. Merits Park allows for activities including group outings, ballpark rentals, and event space rentals.
The park features:
- 3,400 fixed seats
- 5,000 baseball game capacity
- DRB Homes Family Plaza kid zone, featuring inflatable games and slides, alongside several other family-friendly activities throughout the season
- A large video display scoreboard
- All synthetic turf
- The field can also accommodate rectangle sports (e.g. football, soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey)
- A 360-degree concourse
Activities and events for groups include birthday parties, picnics, and more. The park’s birthday party package includes a general bowl ticket for members, a pre-game reserved picnic table near the DRB Homes Family Plaza, access to the plaza, and more, with a minimum of 10 members. There are also several group areas available for reservation including the Point Broadband Picnic Patio located in the outfield. The picnic area accommodates 25 to 200 people (44 tables) and comes with complimentary food and non-alcoholic beverages.
