ROCHESTER — Will Rochester’s proposed sports complex be a

$65 million project

that becomes worth every penny and a civic source of pride? Or might it not come close to paying for itself?

When it comes to the future benefits of the building and

eventual utilization of the Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex,

predicting its worth is tricky.

There are those brimming with optimism about a complex that, in its first of two projected phases — the outdoors components come first, with groundbreaking set for this fall — will include eight turf and lighted baseball/softball fields, 12 outdoor pickleball courts, two turf soccer fields, a basketball court, and a walking/running track. The optimists especially point to the city evolving into a sports destination with the complex allowing a multitude of large youth and amateur tournaments to be hosted here, especially in baseball and softball.

Sports tourism has grown into one of the world’s biggest money industries, and Rochester seems on the cusp of seriously entering that fray.

Rochester resident Andrew Davick, who had a son go through the Rochester Youth Baseball Association and is a former RYBA president, believes the sports complex is long overdue.

“There is a need for it in a city of (123,000) people,” Davick said. “We lack some of those facilities that other communities have. That the city (hasn’t had) a nice turf field is surprising. So I am excited about it. Our facilities have to match our population growth and match what Mayo Clinic is doing.”

There are also plenty who don’t share the same optimism about an initial sports complex building phase that will cost in the $65 million range. When initially approved by Rochester voters in 2023, the public largely believed that an indoor facility would come first, and it would be accompanied by a group of rectangular fields, mostly designated for soccer and lacrosse.

Original plans included as many as 12 soccer fields that would be constructed. That number has been cut to two in the initial phase. And the indoor facility — which is likely to house basketball and volleyball courts and offer other amenities — isn’t likely to be built for another five years or more.

Plenty of Rochester residents were seeking more from this project than mostly baseball, softball and outdoor pickleball facilities, and were welcoming what it would do for the Rochester sports community, even more than what it would do for the Rochester economy.

“A lot of people had anticipated the indoor facility,” said former Rochester Youth Baseball Association president Mike Vance, who was among a number of sports association leaders in the community who were asked for their input on the project before final decisions were made. “As a citizen, I guess I am excited about the project. But there are a lot of concerns within the community as to what the original vote and proposition (for the project) had been. There was some feedback in the community sessions we had about how much use this would get and whether this was the right step.”

There remain questions about who is actually going to have access to the sports complex, whether it will be a bidding war to play on these fields and courts, and whether weekend usage will largely be eaten up by out-of-towners playing tournaments here.

It does raise the question: Is this project worth the $65 million price tag, and potentially twice that much, or more, to complete both phases? Once everything is built, will those Rochester voters who voted yes in 2023 to the construction of the Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex have deemed it worth it?

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

Rochester Sports Executive Director Matt Esau says yes, Rochester is going to get its money’s worth.

Esau, whose organization’s mission is to bring sports tournaments to Rochester, has heavily studied the explosive impact of sports tourism. He says the Rochester economy will be ready to hit a new gear once this new sports complex on the southeast edge of town is built.

Baseball and softball tournaments that Rochester Sports used to struggle to attract because of the city’s lack of facilities will be made easier to bring to town with eight new fields, all of them with dugouts and lights.

Esau says that the Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex will have a big-league feel, which he is certain will be a major draw for tournament customers.

Building the complex, Esau believes, will help Rochester go from a one-trick pony — health care — to a second trick, sports tourism.

“I am thrilled with the project,” Esau said. “I wish it had come 10 years earlier. I think that a lot of people in Rochester and the surrounding area would have trouble grasping what this facility could do for our economy and sports tourism in our city. Sometimes it’s hard to understand the dollars that are brought in by visitors. It’s not just the hotels and restaurants that benefit, but so many others indirectly. When visitors spend money in our town, that money changes hands on average seven times. That is hard for people to grasp.”

Sophia Marschall / Post Bulletin

What is also hard to grasp is who from the community will regularly use this new facility.

Weekends will likely be used primarily for tournaments at the baseball and softball complex. But what about the rest of the week? Who will occupy those new turf fields at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday, if anybody? And how about Sunday through Thursday nights from late March until early November?

Maybe even more importantly, what will the price be to rent a field and how soon in advance will that renting need to happen? Those things have yet to be determined.

In a city that is strapped for field space and saw its youth baseball numbers increase by 30% this past year, more usable baseball and softball fields would figure to be warmly welcomed. Youth softball and soccer leagues in Rochester are also bursting at the seams, their numbers ever growing.

The sheer number of baseball/softball fields being built — eight — isn’t the only lure to playing there. Also strongly factored in is that these fields will be made of artificial turf, making them playable for an extra few months of the year. Moisture is a hindrance with grass fields, which get torn up when played on after it rains or snows. It’s imaginable that the eight turf baseball/softball fields and two turf soccer fields will be playable as early as the last week of March and as late as early November, or until the snow flies and stays.

For high school teams, that can be a big deal. Getting practices outdoors at the end of March often can’t happen at a school’s grass field. It also can’t happen at either of Rochester’s two main soccer complexes, Watson and Fuad Mansour. But for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse, it will be possible on the Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex’s turf. College teams from a 60-mile radius also figure to get in on the act of renting Rochester’s new fields for early season practices. So do all levels of soccer teams who want to take advantage of that turf.

“We are excited about it,” John Marshall Activities Director Brian Ihrke said. “We think we’ll be able to use it to some extent. When our fields (at JM) are wet in the early spring of the year, we hope to use the turf for baseball and softball. We have every intention to do it. I do think this will be good for Rochester.”

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the country. This new sports complex answers the call for more pickleball courts in Rochester, with 12 outdoor state-of-the art courts to be built at the site. And they will be lit, one of the few pickleball sites in Rochester that comes with lights.

All of that has Rochester pickleball player and Rochester Area Pickleball Association president Denise Dupras excited. She says these lit courts will be the best ones in town.

“They are going to be spectacular courts,” Dupras said. “And with lights, there will be the advantage of being able to play late in the evenings.”

But her excitement is tempered some with the expectation that the courts will be pay-to-play.

With the complex being funded by local tax dollars, she says it doesn’t sit right with the pickleball community that there will be a fee to play.

“If there is a fee, people will always want to look somewhere else to play,” Dupras said. “We’ve been told by Park and Rec that there will be a cost for the courts. But these will be the best courts in town, state-of-the-art. They are going to be spectacular courts.”

The Rochester soccer community is another group that has some dissatisfaction with how things are taking shape with the Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex. After initial plans advertised a pack of outdoor soccer fields to be built, those plans changed drastically, now with just two rectangular turf fields in the offing, down from 12.

That came after it was realized that Rochester likely couldn’t compete with Blaine and its massive soccer complex for tournaments.

Rochester soccer parent Alicia Zeone says the current Rochester sports complex plans are a major letdown to soccer enthusiasts, no matter the reason for having changed them.

“Folks were excited when the original plans were laid out; those were grand plans,” Zeone said. “But they are going in a whole different direction now.”

Traveling baseball and softball teams in Rochester have a long history of leaving town for weekend tournaments. They’ve gone mostly in a three-state radius, with such places as Des Moines, Iowa (with

baseball

and

soccer complexes);

Mauston, Wisconsin (

baseball

and

soccer complexes);

and a variety of Twin Cities sites for their tournaments, all of those places home to excellent facilities.

With Phase 1 of Rochester’s sports complex scheduled to be completed within two years, the plan is, not only will more and bigger tournaments help boost Rochester’s economy with all of the out-of-town weekend visitors, but Rochester baseball and softball players and their families will save money by traveling less.

Steven Todd is the father of 10-year-old Weston Todd, who plays on a 10-under Class AAA traveling baseball team from Rochester. Steven is the team’s coach. The Todds know all about leaving town on the weekends, bound for youth baseball tournaments. They’ve already played in five of them this year, and they’ll have done seven outside of Rochester before the season is done.

Steven said he is looking forward to the day when Weston can stay home to play. It’s going to save time and money. Weekend baseball trips aren’t cheap. Hotels, meals, gas — it all adds up. It starts on a Friday night and extends to the time they arrive home, Sunday evenings.

“For our family of five, I’m spending anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 per (weekend) tournament,” Steven Todd said. “So, instead of doing that in the Cities, we could be doing that here (many) weekends. I think for tourism, the (sports complex) will pay for itself. I say that just knowing what I spend myself on a trip. I’m excited because this can keep you home a little bit more than we’ve been. And I think it could do great things for the city.”

Maya Giron / Post Bulletin

With Rochester’s abundance of hotels, restaurants and what is believed will be a state-of-the-art sports complex, Steven Todd believes it can be a perfect host for regional tournaments.

Jake Vetter, whose son Ryan also plays for the same 10-under Class AAA travel baseball team, is also looking forward to spending more time in Rochester once the new fields are built.

“Yeah, we’ll save some money,” Jake Vetter said. “It also brings teams down to Rochester, so we get to stay in town and showcase the city that we have. It’ll make it easier for us parents to not be traveling every weekend. And I think we can get quality teams, teams that will come from Iowa and Wisconsin and even Illinois. You could bring in teams and have something here almost every weekend.”

This article is the first in the Post Bulletin’s three-part series “Game Changer,” looking at soon to be constructed Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex.

• Today: Will Rochester get its money’s worth with $65 million sports complex?

• July 12: Softball, soccer stakeholders have differing reactions to Phase I

• July 19: How can adult rec leagues, athletes make use of new sports complex?