By Anna Skinner
For a long time coming, Rod Sinn has imagined a project such as the Jonathan Byrd Fieldhouse at Grand Park. And now, his dream-come-true is open.
Sinn, president of operations at the fieldhouse, had an idea of implementing a similar project in North Carolina seven years ago.
“I always say things happen for a reason, and sometimes things don’t happen for a reason, and that obviously didn’t happen for a reason,” Sinn said.
A family friend gave Sinn a call, and Sinn traveled to Westfield to tour Grand Park and listen to the vision of implementing basketball into the city.
“The mayor’s initiative was to get a basketball facility in Grand Park because we are Indiana,” Sinn said. “I was very interested, so the following week, I brought my wife to take a look. Five minutes in, she looked at me and said, ‘You have to do this.’ This has been going on for the last two years really, the idea of bringing it here, to Grand Park and Westfield.”
Sinn works closely with Andy Card, who wanted to get involved in a project similar to Sinn’s hopes.
“Andy wanted to do something similar to the exact same thing I wanted to do, but I wanted to do it from the operations standpoint,” Sinn said. “Andy knows everybody and has great connections, and we sat down and met and hit it off. It was a perfect match.”
The fieldhouse held a grand opening party for the public Jan. 5. Sinn said the facility is completely booked for tournaments and games through 2016.
The 88,000-square-foot building holds eight courts to be used for basketball and volleyball, 12 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the building, USB ports, high definition cameras and seat cushion rentals. Sinn said parents can purchase a high-definition video of their child playing to send off to college coaches.
If there are family members who live far from the tournament, there is an option to purchase a subscription and watch the game on their televisions from home.
A 300-seat mezzanine is available upstairs with viewing of the courts for those who want to study, work or just escape the action of the games for a moment.
In addition to the main facility, a 7,600-square-foot structure is constructed at the front to house the Jonathan Byrd Restaurant and a sports rehabilitation facility.
Sinn said the building was created to fit the “Colts standard.”
“We want people from all over the country to come here. That is the main goal. We want this to be an experience that not only do they come here one time, but I want to make sure we keep them coming back,” Sinn said. “We have learned over the years that customer service is something that is forgotten, and we want this to be an experience where we make it the best customer service. It’s an honor to have them come into the facility, and that is how they will be treated.”
Indoor Soccer Facility
In addition to Jonathan Byrd’s Fieldhouse, Grand Park will also open an indoor soccer facility to house three soccer fields. The $20 million, 350,000-square-foot facility will open later this year. A 1,700-square-foot restaurant will be placed in front of the soccer facility.
