LINCOLN, Nebout (KOLN) – A new baseball and softball complex is coming to the capital city.
The City of Lincoln, along with Nebraska Wesleyan University, the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau and other community partners, released an announcement Wednesday morning about the Lincoln Youth Complex.
“The feeling I had when I first got out of bed this morning was like the first day of school,” said Jeff Maul, executive director of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I couldn’t wait and just to be a part of that energy on a beautiful day in Lincoln is something special.”
The new complex, which will feature eight grass fields, will go near Oak Lake Park on the southeast side of N. 1st and Cornhusker Highway. The two fields will be the new home of the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves.
The outdoor fields of the youth fields will also be used for flag football, soccer, lacrosse and other sports.
“There is a great need to expand our youth sports facilities and provide a destination for more people than ever before,” Maul said. “LYC is designed as a place for players of all backgrounds and abilities to come together and play.”
When completed, it is expected to bring in 100,000 new visitors in its first year and double that by its third year. But it wasn’t just the promise of revenue that attracted community support.
“Providing an opportunity for our student-athletes to work with young kids who may not be able to afford organized baseball and softball is a really special component,” said Darrin Good, president of Nebraska Wesleyan University. “It’s not just the ball complex, it’s the ethos.”
The goal of the project is to provide greater access to disadvantaged young people. And one of the fields will be the home of Homer’s heroes for mentally and physically disabled children.
“All of this work only supports the vision of One Lincoln, where we champion practices that promote diversity, equity and inclusion here in our community,” said Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2023 and be completed in the fall of 2024. It is expected to cost $27 million, and about $10 million has already been raised from private donors. An additional $8 million comes in ARPA funding from the City of Lincoln and Lancaster County.
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