Hartford Business Journal

16 Hartford Business Journal • July 23, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Matt Pilon mpilon@HartfordBusiness.com Y outh sports in the United States has blossomed into a $15.5 billion industry, with parents often treat- ing out-of-state tourna- ments as a family vacation. While industry insiders say Connecti- cut's youth sports market is competi- tive when it comes to attracting major competitions, they concede there are gaps to be filled, and developers are starting to take notice. Several projects are being consid- ered that could pump millions of dollars into the state economy and better posi- tion Connecticut to attract larger, more high-profile sporting events. Plans were recently unveiled for a $200 million sports complex in Windsor Locks that aims to be a premier facil- ity for top youth athletes from around the country, particularly for Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball. Even though the project faces un- certainty — following revelations of an active lawsuit against the devel- oper, Andrew Borgia, in New York — youth basketball organizers say that a multi-court facility with the right amenities could be a major draw. Meanwhile, just over the border in Windsor, a longtime fastpitch softball coach and league official has, with little fanfare, won local approvals to build 11 fastpitch fields on a 20-plus-acre parcel on Day Hill Road, near Amazon's new distribution facility. Fastpitch Na- tion Park would be the largest of its kind in New Eng- land and aim to attract additional tournaments to an already healthy portfolio, according to the developer David Rocha, who owns an indoor athletics facility in Bloom- field and who is fastpitch direc- tor for the U.S. Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) for Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "The whole business of travel sports has exploded," Rocha said. Another area sports facility, Hart- ford's Dillon Stadium, will draw more out-of-state activity after renova- tions are complete and United Soc- cer League's newly named Hartford Athletic begins play in 2019. Connecticut already attracts sport- ing events at several facilities, includ- ing the Convention Center in Hart- ford, which has hosted major youth volleyball tournaments. A weeklong national girls' fastpitch softball tour- nament, directed by Rocha, is expected to bring more than $2.1 million to the Greater Hartford economy when competition kicks off July 23 in East Hartford and Southington. While Connecticut doesn't have the massive sports complexes that are more common in other parts of the country, the state benefits from its geographic position and could build on that, said Connecticut Convention & Sports Bu- reau (CTCSB) President H. Scott Phelps, whose organization helps market dozens of venues around the state. "Connecticut has 23.5 million people within a two-hour drive," Phelps said. Building demand Fastpitch Nation Park, which Rocha said represents a $3 million invest- ment, could be considered the antithesis of "build it and they will come." USSSA has grown into the largest fastpitch organization in New Eng- land, and demand for the sport and ac- cess to softball fields is there, he said. The association is already running about 40 tournaments a year in Con- necticut, which is sorely lacking in fastpitch-sized fields. Assuming his project becomes a reality (he's still waiting on final word from his private lenders and there's no state money involved), Rocha antici- pates many existing competitions, as well as new ones, moving to the Wind- sor facility, including the addition of a second national tournament. On an average weekend, as many as 50 teams could be involved in a tournament. The matchups include teams from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and Rocha expects the geographic reach to grow. Hosting college teams is also a possibility. "Absolutely, we're going to draw from much further away," he said. Rocha said his project was born out of a dearth of fastpitch fields in the state. What does exist is often town-owned or requires fence modifications to accom- modate the smaller fastpitch format, and Rocha has noticed that more towns in recent years have stopped renting to tournaments like his. "You never know from year to year whether the fields you used last year are available to use this year," he said. Once financing is in order, which Rocha hopes will happen by next month, construction on the outdoor fields would start immediately, with a projected opening date of spring 2019. Looking for hoops space Youth basketball organizers say a multi-court, amenity-laden facility could make a major difference in Connecticut. That's why officials, including Tony Duarte, lieutenant governor for AAU sports in Connecticut and national commissioner for AAU boys basket- ball, were excited by the prospects of the proposed multi-sport complex in Windsor Locks, which included plans for 16 basketball courts. The project, however, faces uncer- tainty. Windsor Locks First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick halted develop- ment talks suddenly July 16 when he learned about an ongoing civil suit in New York against the developer. But Kervick said he's still willing to hear Borgia's side of the situation. "I would have preferred [Borgia] had disclosed this to us in advance," Ker- vick said of the suit filed by four prior investors in a New York sports-related project. "If we get a good explainer, we can move past it." Regardless, Duarte said the proposed project is precisely the type of develop- ment that could help bring more events and dollars into the state, as well as increased competition in several areas. "The biggest difficulty to hosting big tournaments is finding a place with multiple courts, and then the cost," Duarte said. Connecticut's annual AAU boys and girls basketball tournaments draw more than 140 teams from around the state that play at several different high schools in April or May of each year. But Connecticut has not drawn an AAU "super regional" hoops tourna- ment — which would attract teams from neighboring states — for at least three years, Duarte said. Duarte, who is not involved with the Windsor Locks project, said a facility Fielding Proposals Developers see opportunity with increasing demand for youth-sports facilities Economic Impact Tournaments and convention events promoted or facilitated by the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau had the following economic impact in the most recent fiscal year: Hotel room nights 67,000 Sales activity $55 million CT sales tax $3.1 million Source: CTCSB H. Scott Phelps, President, Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) The Mizuno New England Winterfest volleyball tourney at the Convention Center creates about $2 million in revenue for the region. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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