A capital campaign has been launched to support a proposed sports complex in St. Joseph Township. Nicole Schmitt with the St. Joseph Youth Sports Foundation tells us they’re planning to develop 40 acres at Maiden Lane and Hollywood Road into Rocket Football fields, trails, a splash pad, baseball fields, and more. She says there’s a need for more places to play in St. Joseph.
“We have a couple of different leagues that don’t have enough fields for everybody that wants to participate, so they limit their capacity and registrations,” Schmitt said. “I think it’s important that everyone in our community can play in our community.”
The project received initial support from St. Joseph Township planners late last year. Schmitt says before the fundraising campaign could begin, a firm had to be hired to draft up plans that included a price tag.
“We had people reach out to us wanting to know if they could have naming rights to a field or an fitness stop or something like that, but we just didn’t have a dollar figure to put with that. Now we have that. So, that’s the last piece that we were waiting for to launch this capital campaign.”
The cost of Phase One of the project has been pegged at $8.5 million. The St. Joseph Youth Sports Foundation has produced a video showcasing the plans and is inviting people to contribute. Donors interested in naming rights to parts of the complex should reach out now. Schmitt says events to raise funds are also planned. You can find out about donating to the project right here.
