Aerial view of Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana. Master plan developers call it “A Place for People Who Love Sports.”

All images courtesy of City of Westfield, Indiana

Economic development takes on an athletic twist in Westfield, Indiana.

In the classic 1986 hoops movie “Hoosiers,” coach Norman Dale, played by Gene Hackman, tells his basketball team at a small high school in Indiana what it means to compete for a championship: “If you put your efforts and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game,” he says. “In my book, we’re going to be winners.”

The ultimate underdog redemption story, “Hoosiers” could be a metaphor for the City of Westfield, a 32-square-mile town of 58,410 people about 25 miles north of downtown Indianapolis. Inspired by the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship, the film captured the essence of small-town, Midwestern grit, determination and hustle — qualities found in Westfield, a rapidly growing suburb in Hamilton County in Central Indiana.

While Coach Dale’s team wanted to win a state title, the City of Westfield aims to capture a national one. They want to be known as the No. 1 youth sports city in America.

“We are the youth sports capital of the U.S.,” says Jenell Fairman, Westfield’s economic development director.

It’s hard to argue with her. From 2017 to 2023, the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield had 37.48 million visitors — more than any other youth sports complex in America. Disney World’s famous Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando came in second with 30.66 million visitors, followed by youth sports parks in Blaine, Minnesota; Manheim, Pennsylvania; and Cartersville, Georgia.

“We are a growing city, and we are using sports to grow our population and our economy,” says Fairman. “Westfield was the sixth-fastest-growing city in the U.S. in 2023. We have been growing between 10% and 30% each year.”

Hamilton County is home to Westfield and three nearby cities: Noblesville, Fishers and Carmel. “Our county’s four cities all touch each other. We have been growing like crazy,” says Fairman. “We are often listed among the best places to live in the country because we have some of the highest quality of life found in Indiana and the U.S.”

NFL? NBA? USL? Come One, Come All
Sports and recreation drive that. Known for its award-winning parks and trails, Westfield caters to people who crave an active outdoor lifestyle and raise kids who want to be the next Caitlin Clark or Tyrese Haliburton. “Our main economic driver has been Grand Park — the largest youth sports facility in the country at over 400 acres,” Fairman notes. “In 2023 alone, Grand Park had over 5.5 million visitors.”

In the highly competitive world of youth sports, hosting big events is big money; and nothing brings in outside visitor spending quite like hundreds of youth athletic contests that annually attract millions of athletes and their families.

Because of that, Westfield is doubling down.

“We adopted a 150-acre master plan for Grand Park,” says Fairman. Today, the campus includes 31 multipurpose fields; 26 baseball and softball diamonds; a 378,000-sq.-ft. Events Center with three full-size indoor synthetic fields; office space; and a full-service restaurant and bar.

The campus also hosts the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts Training Camp; the NBA’s Indiana Pacers Athletic Center; the training grounds of the Indy Eleven men’s and women’s soccer teams of the USL; Wright’s 360; and Pro X Athlete Development.

Fairman says future plans include a brand-new outdoor soccer stadium with seating capacity for 15,000 fans; an indoor ice arena for youth hockey and other tournaments; retail shops, eateries and other mixed-use space.

None of this is by happenstance, notes Fairman.

“Scott Willis is our new mayor, and he has set economic development as a priority for Westfield. We want to enhance quality of life around this youth sports amenity and grow it,” she says. “We are like the best-kept secret in the Midwest, but a lot of people know about Grand Park.”

“We are like the best-kept secret in the Midwest, but a lot of people know about Grand Park.”

– Jenell Fairman, Director of Economic Development, City of Westfield, Indiana

A lot of companies know about Westfield too. Over the past decade, 160 corporate facility expansion projects have landed in Hamilton County. Only Marion County, which includes the state capital of Indianapolis, had more projects during that time (396) in Indiana. Some of the biggest investments in Indiana have occurred in Hamilton County. These include Andretti Autosports’ $200 million project in Fishers and Bastion Solutions’ $164 million plant in Noblesville.

Westfield, meanwhile, has garnered its fair share of corporate facility investments. Portal Diabetes Inc. announced a $4 million capital project in April of this year, while Vikan, a light manufacturing company, announced a headquarters relocation to Westfield as part of a $10.5 million, 80,000-sq.-ft. project. Other large projects in Westfield in recent times include Builders Digital Experience and Isotopia Molecular Imaging.

Existing large employers in Westfield include IMMI, a safety strap maker; SEP; Agreliant Genetics LLC; Abbott Labs; and Westfield Steel, among others.

Leveraging Sports for Economic Growth
Sports, however, remain the crown jewel of the community. With basketball ingrained into the blood of most Hoosiers, it didn’t take much for the entire state to wrap its collective arms around Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever of the WNBA or to enthusiastically jump on the “Yes, ’Cers” bandwagon of the Indiana Pacers and their march to the NBA Finals.

But round rims aren’t the only circles drawing sports fans to town. Westfield recently secured a deal to host the LIV Golf Individual Championships August 15-17 at The Club of Chatham Hills. And Grand Park’s new soccer stadium, upon completion, is expected to host home games of both Indy Eleven USL squads.

Artist renderings of the Grand Park Master Plan and retail plaza. Think of Atlanta Braves’ stadium Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, as a comparison, say developers.

All of this, says Fairman, feeds into the growth of the Grand Park Sports Campus, which is in the midst of a 10-year master plan that includes development of a full-scale retail, entertainment and mixed-use project bringing athletes, shoppers, hotel guests and concert-goers to the sports mecca of Westfield.

“I came from Carmel,” says Fairman. “We are focused in Westfield on building a better quality of life. I don’t think our story was being told. There are not many places in America that compare to Hamilton County. I think the best comparison to Westfield is Carmel 20 years ago. When you look at our neighborhoods — places like Chatham Hills, Bridgewater, Centennial and Harmony — these are some of the highest valuations in the city.”

More are coming, she adds. “Westfield has been issuing more housing permits than the rest of Hamilton County combined and more than Marion County,” she says. “We have enjoyed exponential growth over the last 20 years.”

After all this growth, what’s next for Westfield? “We’re looking for more high-tech investments and we’re focused on sports technology,” Fairman says. “My goal is to bring more of those jobs here.”

If the fictional Coach Dale of “Hoosiers” were asked today whether Westfield has already won, he’d likely respond by saying, “Yes, ’Cers.”

Profile: Westfield, Indiana

• Location: Hamilton County in Central Indiana.

• Metro Area: Westfield is part of the 11-county Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson MSA that has 2.2 million people.

• The Quakers, who founded Westfield, were instrumental in the Underground Railroad route through Indiana.

• Westfield is the hometown of world hot dog eating champion Joey Chestnut.

• Westfield is home to two Pete Dye golf courses.

• Grand Park Sports Campus, home of Indy Eleven USL soccer team headquarters and Colts NFL Training Camp, is the nation’s largest sports tournament facility and is the most-visited youth sports complex in America with over 5 million visits in 2023 (note this is visits, not unique visitors).

Ball State University’s College of Health is partnering with Indy Eleven to offer a unique professional development opportunity for Indiana youth coaches and educators.

As part of the Coach Beyond–Indiana initiative, Ball State and Indy Eleven will host a free, in-person training session on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Michael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis. The one-hour workshop, held prior to that evening’s Indy Eleven match against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, will focus on building positive, youth development-focused coaching practices. Attendees will receive a complimentary ticket to the game and earn Professional Growth Points (PGPs) toward their ongoing licensure requirements.

“This event is about investing in the adults who shape young people’s experiences in sport and in life,” said Dr. Jerry Reynolds, associate professor of social work and director of Ball State’s Coach Beyond–Indiana project. “We’re excited to team up with Indy Eleven to equip coaches with the knowledge and tools to make youth sports more inclusive, more positive, and more impactful.”

Coach Beyond–Indiana is a statewide training initiative led by Ball State and supported by the Susan Crown Exchange and The Ohio State University’s LiFE Sports Program. All Coach Beyond–IN programming is free to participants and offers research-based guidance on topics such as athlete mental health, performance anxiety, and abuse prevention.

“We are proud to support this initiative with Ball State University and welcome youth coaches and educators to Carroll Stadium,” said Greg Stremlaw, president and chief executive officer of Indy Eleven. “Coaches play a critical role in the development of young athletes, and it’s a privilege to help provide this resource to our local communities.”

Those interested in participating in the workshop and obtaining a complimentary Indy Eleven ticket can email Dr. Reynolds at jfreynolds@bsu.edu.

GLENDALE, AZ — The Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority is giving out $6.3 million to schools and youth sports groups, the most the organization has ever given out in a single grant cycle.

The record amount of grant money is available because of the amount of revenue generated in 2024 and 2025 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale – the home of the Arizona Cardinals and where the biggest concerts in the state are held.

AZSTA’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget has the largest adjusted gross revenue for events – $14,058,641 – in the organization’s history, an AZSTA spokesperson told the Business Journal.

Funds are going to 36 sports-related projects across Maricopa County.

Read more of this story from the Business Journal.

Youth Sports Umpire Assaulted By Parent In Parking Lot originally appeared on The Spun.

A youth sports umpire was assaulted by an angry parent in the parking lot following a game over the weekend.

In upstate New York, an umpire calling a girls softball game was assaulted by a spectator who was upset with some of his calls. The youth umpire was calling a travel softball game. The umpire was followed into the parking lot by the angry parent.

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Carlos Chaluisant, 68, said he’s dealt with his fair share of complaints over the years. But he’s never been attacked like he was on Sunday.

“He approached me, I then tried to defend myself and he kicked me off my feet. I fell on the floor, and he swiped me with his hand on my face,” he told 12 News.

The youth umpire had to go to the emergency room after experiencing head pain. Thankfully, the scans came back clear and he didn’t face any serious injuries.

He’s scared moving forward, though.

“It’s scary. It really is scary, because right now this happened to me on Sunday, and I’m still having a little bit of emotion on it because what did I do wrong? I was just doing a game,” he told 12 News.

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It’s a growing issue across the country, as parents become more obsessed over their kids and their sporting events, even though 99.9 percent of youth athletes aren’t going to make a career – or even play in college – when it comes to sports.

“We were concerned for several years that something like this would end up happening at some point,” President of the Binghamton Umpires’ Association, Ryan Hastings, said. “We’ve seen videos all over online that this happens across the country on unfortunately a routine basis.”

Meanwhile, the youth umpire has made a decision on his future, following the attack.

“It doesn’t change, I still love the game. I played the game as a child, and now I’m 68 but 26 years [umpiring] and I still love the game. And I will love it until the moment I die.”

Youth Sports Umpire Assaulted By Parent In Parking Lot first appeared on The Spun on Jul 9, 2025

This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.

Umpires in New York State are sounding the alarm on a scary trend following an alleged fan assault over the weekend.

Carlos Chaluisant, 68, who has umpired for more than two decades, said he had just worked a game in the Binghamton area Sunday when a spectator followed him to the parking lot and struck him because he was angry over Chaluisant’s calls.

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“He approached me, I then tried to defend myself and he kicked me off my feet. I fell on the floor, and he swiped me with his hand on my face,” Chaluisant told 12News.

The veteran arbiter said he went to the emergency room on Monday after experiencing back and head pain. Thankfully, all tests came back clear and he’s on the mend.

Ryan Hastings, the president of the Binghamton Umpires’ Association, says incidents like this are part of an alarming epidemic of bad behavior against umpires nationwide.

“We were concerned for several years that something like this would end up happening at some point,” said Hastings. “We’ve seen videos all over online that this happens across the country on unfortunately a routine basis.”

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This latest report comes in the midst of an ongoing umpire shortage around the country. It’s an issue that has been building for some time, and has been written about extensively, including by CNN in 2023.

“The problem isn’t the money, the problem is the verbal abuse,” said Don Mason, the head of baseball operations for Top Gun Sports and USSSA baseball in North and South Carolina, to Queen City News back in May. “You have a lot of guys say, ‘I don’t care how much you pay me, I’m not going back out there because of fan abuse, coach abuse,’ so on and so forth.”

According to the National Umpire Association, it had 6,229 members in 2017, but that number fell to 4,995 in 2022 for both youth baseball and softball.

That figure isn’t going to go back up either with more occurrences like the one in Binghamton last weekend.

Youth Sports Umpires Warn of ‘Scary’ Growing Trend first appeared on Men’s Journal on Jul 9, 2025

Written By: Ashleigh Johnson, DrPH – San Diego State University

Now is a great time to focus on the fact that we need to look after young athletes’ emotional and mental health, holistically.

Youth sports offer immense benefits for physical and mental health, and sport is one of the best investments for promoting physical activity. However, roughly 70% of youth drop out of organized sports by age 13, most commonly because of injury and burnout. There are many ways to take a proactive approach to create a supportive and sustainable sports environment for young people.

Understanding Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes:

Overuse injuries happen when athletes repeat the same movements over and over, without giving their bodies enough time to rest and recover. These injuries often develop slowly, not from one big incident, and might appear as pain that won’t go away, swelling, or trouble moving like usual.

Common Overuse Injuries in Young Athletes:

Some common overuse injuries from youth sports are listed below. The duration of injuries can vary from less than a week to being season-ending.

• Bone stress injury: when bones are repeatedly stressed, they can develop small cracks, like hairline fractures. Common locations include the shin, foot, and lower back.
• Growing pains at bone attachment sites: overuse can also cause irritation and pain at the spots where muscles and tendons connect to growing bones. This often happens at the heel, kneecap, and inside the elbow.
• Tendon irritation: Tendons can also become inflamed and painful with overuse. A common example is “jumper’s knee”, which affects the tendon below the kneecap.
• Growth plate injuries: Children and adolescents have growth plates at the end of their bones, which can become injured from repeated stress. This can happen from throwing a lot (Little League shoulder) or in the wrist from gymnastics.

Understanding Youth Sports Burnout:

Burnout is another primary reason that young athletes drop out of sports. Burnout in youth sports isn’t just about physical exhaustion; it’s a combination of emotional, physical, and social factors. Recognizing the signs is the first step in prevention. Common indicators include:

• Decreased enjoyment: A loss of enthusiasm for the sport.
• Persistent fatigue: Feeling constantly tired, even after rest.
• Increased irritability: Becoming easily frustrated or angry.
• Reduced performance: A noticeable decline in skill or ability.
• Anxiety symptoms: Excessive worry, agitations.

How to Prevent Youth Sports Burnout and Overuse Injuries:

To ensure a healthy and fulfilling sports experience for young athletes, while avoiding burnout and injury, consider some key factors:

1. Age-Appropriate Involvement:

• Focus on Fundamental Skills: Up to age 12, prioritize developing basic movement skills and motor control. Encourage participation in a variety of sports and unstructured activities like swimming, biking, or rock climbing. This supports well-rounded athletic and physical development.
• Build a Foundation: The early years should focus on building confidence, ability, and a lifelong desire for physical activity. The focus should be on fun and enjoyment rather than intense competition.
• Re-evaluate as Youth Develop: As children grow, continually assess their mental, social, and physical health. For those who choose to specialize, gradually introduce sport-specific training while ensuring it aligns with their developmental stage.

2. Sport Sampling vs. Specialization:

• Avoid Sport Specialization: Year-round training and a focus on a single sport increases the risk of burnout and injury. Regardless of a child’s age, always encourage a more balanced approach.
• Embrace Cross-Training: Encourage participation in multiple sports (i.e., sport sampling) and fun, cross-training activities.

3. Manage Level of Involvement:

• Consider Level of Competition: Balance recreational and competitive sports based on the athlete’s needs and goals. Be sure the level of competition aligns with their abilities and is something they enjoy.
• Limit Time Commitment: Ensure the athlete has time for other activities, rest, and social interaction. Athletes should take time off from sports on a weekly and yearly basis.

4. Think of the Big Picture:

• Consider the Social Environment: Pay attention to the athlete’s relationships with coaches, teammates, and parents. A positive and supportive social environment is crucial.
• Put the Athlete First: Support athletes in making their own choices about sports. Encourage them to play for the love of the game, and value their dedication and participation as much as, or more than, their performance. Prioritize the athlete’s overall well-being over short-term achievements.
• Shared and Informed Decision-Making: Have open, honest conversations between parents, athletes, and coaches about the athlete’s goals. Acknowledge that only a small percentage of high school athletes compete at the collegiate or professional level, and that enjoying the sport is the top priority.

Conclusion:

The goal of youth sports should be to foster happy, healthy, and active adults. If we recognize burnout and injury risks and use prevention methods, young athletes can have a healthy and lasting sports experience. A balanced approach, open communication, and a focus on long-term well-being are key to preventing sports dropout and promoting a lifelong love of physical activity.

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