Officials break ground on ambitious Legacy Sports Park in Mesa
Sep 18, 2020, 2:23 PM | Updated: 3:32 pm
PHOENIX – The first small step was taken Friday in a year-plus journey to turn a plot of Mesa dirt into a sprawling sports complex.
Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for Legacy Sports Park, a privately owned 320-acre venue set to open in January 2022.
“The great thing about what we’re doing here is this is the largest family sports entertainment park in the country,” Chad Miller, CEO of Legacy Sports USA, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
Miller, a Valley native, said the park near Ellsworth and Pecos roads is about more than just sports. He said it’s a more ambitious version of a project his father began nearly three decades ago.
The first shovels of dirt have been turned over on the massive 320-acre Legacy Sports Park in southeast Mesa. Opening date is set for January 2022. @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/n1iHi4n9Qo
— Griselda Zetino (@GriseldaZetino) September 18, 2020
“It’s a true entertainment destination where people are going to come from all over, whether you play sports or you don’t play sports,” he said.
“We’re going to have dining options, retail, health/fitness/wellness, concerts, festivals. Really there’s something for everybody.”
The indoor/outdoor facility is expected to create around 1,500 jobs and generate around $200 million of annual economic impact, Miller said.
The plans call for a multi-sports building that will house 62 volleyball courts, 16 basketball courts, six futsal courts and a 75,000-square-foot esports arena and a 50,000-square-foot for gymnastics, cheer and dance center.
It will also have a child care center, yoga studios, food and drink options, a sports performance center directed by former Olympian Dan O’Brien and a general fitness center.
The outdoor amenities will include a 23-field soccer complex, 20 sand volleyball courts, 40 pickleball courts, six sand soccer fields and eight baseball/softball fields.
An 8,000-seat multi-purpose stadium and a 50-acre special events area for concerts and other events will also be on the grounds.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.