At a Sept. 12 town council meeting, the Town of Whitestown revealed the planned site for Little League International’s Central Region Headquarters Stadium Complex. Whitestown officials met with Little League in June and proposed the headquarters site. On Aug. 24, Little League voted to build in Whitestown.
The 10,000-square-foot headquarters and at least two fields will be built on 20 acres of land across from the former site of Wrecks Inc. at 7060 S. Indianapolis Rd., west of I-65.
Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton, Parks Director Nathan Messer and Town Attorney Steve Unger finalized an agreement to purchase 134 acres from the Maurer family, who have owned it since the 1950s.
“We want to express our gratitude to the Maurer family for being willing to help us turn an abandoned piece of property into a prosperous, thriving attraction that families will be able to enjoy for many years to come.” Norton said.
Twenty acres of land previously used for farming will be given to Little League for the Stadium Complex. Development of the remaining 114 acres is in the planning stages. Five acres will be devoted to a new fire station.
Plans include a large park, municipal buildings and other private development. Norton said developers have shown interest in the site.
“That interest has gone through the roof since Little League made its announcement,” Norton said.
Part of the property was once home to Wrecks, Inc., an auto salvage yard, and is in the process of soil remediation due to chemical contamination from oil, gasoline, battery acid and other chemicals that seeped into groundwater beneath the property.
“(The site) has been under voluntary remediation since 2008,” Norton said. “Part of this purchase is an environmental remediation agreement.”
The Town of Whitestown purchased the property for nearly $6.5 million. The new headquarters and fields will be an approximate $5 million investment by Little League. Whitestown also is planning a large park on the site.
Each year, the facility will host the Little League Baseball Great Lakes and Midwest Region Tournaments and the Little League Softball Central Region Tournament. During the tournaments, hotels, restaurants and other retail businesses in Whitestown and across Boone County are expected to benefit from an influx of tourists. Whitestown officials will propose road expansions and a drainage plan to accommodate the growth.
The annual estimated economic impact of those tournaments is $5 to $10 million.
“Our hotels and businesses will be the huge winners in this,” said Tanya Sumner, director of public relations for the Town of Whitestown.
Broadcasting facilities also will be built at the site and all Central Region Tournament games are scheduled to be broadcast from Whitestown on the ESPN Family of Networks.
Little League International plans to have the fields completed by 2020.
“Whitestown was able to keep (Little League) in our community, which honors Steven Strecker. He started this whole thing and passed away last year.” Norton said of Strecker, who served on the Zionsville Little League board and advocated for Zionsville to become the future home of Little League Central Regional Headquarters. “It was great to get this done for Steven.”
