Chesterfield Sports Association along with some of the largest volleyball and basketball clubs in the St. Louis region and local sports complex developer, Mia Rose Holding, are uniting to bring a state-of-the-art indoor volleyball and basketball complex to St. Louis. The multi-court, 97,000-square-foot fieldhouse has received zoning approval in Chesterfield Valley on Eatherton Road near St. Louis Premium Outlets. As the largest youth volleyball and basketball facility in St. Louis, it will attract an estimated 900,000 visitors each year to its clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments. More than 1,000 athletes will practice, train and play games there each week. Construction will begin this Fall 2021 and the target opening is September 2022.
Chesterfield Sports Association (CSA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, will own and operate the facility, which will fill a major need for court space in St. Louis. “This is much more than an athletic center, it is a “life” center and a place these young athletes can call “home,” said Stuart Duncan, Director at Chesterfield Sports Association. “Along with giving young basketball and volleyball athletes a location to play their sports, our mission is to offer them a place to gain confidence, trust, self-esteem and good health.”
The primary partners are:
- High Performance – STL, the largest volleyball club in the region with more than 1,000 athletes, 90 teams and 10,000 annual tournament participants;
- Stratman Sports, the largest club volleyball tournament and junior league organizer in the region hosting over 600 teams throughout every season;
- Missouri Phenom Basketball, a youth development club on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit with 40 teams in Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and St. Louis;
Also signed on as a tenant is CNR Basketball, the largest basketball league organizer in the region, which schedules over 12,000 games annually and runs league games and tournaments during the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall seasons. A full 85% percent of CNR’s teams are within 25 minutes of the new complex.
“Missouri Phenom has a heavy focus on the development of youth both on the court and off. We pride ourselves on building character and leadership from the grassroots level. This facility will allow us to have a space to call our own and continue to grow not only the Phenom Family, but the community as well,” said Brittany Carter, Regional Coordinator at Missouri Phenom Basketball.
Nine (9) basketball courts will convert to eighteen (18) volleyball courts and be equipped with Olympic level flooring, professional grade LED lighting and HD/4K streaming cameras. Additional amenities include a fitness area; multipurpose rooms for team rooms, meetings, and classes; comfortable spectator seating courtside and from a second-floor mezzanine; lounge areas and concessions. The architect is mw Weber Architects. The general contractor is Keystone Construction Company and the civil engineer is Stock & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc.
The fieldhouse will offer the full range of youth sport services and amenities to develop student athletes to meet their fullest potential. CSA plans to work with local organizations to offer community health and wellness programs and will partner with physical therapists and orthopedic specialists to assist with athletes’ conditioning and training.
“We have a rich sports history in St. Louis with great facilities for professional athletes, but we are one of the worst large cities for indoor youth facilities,” said Scott Mebruer, Club Director at High Performance – STL Volleyball Club. “This is the only facility in the St. Louis region that is going to be built from the ground up, meant and purposefully built for young athletes in these sports. Every other facility was something else, never with the purpose of it being for volleyball or basketball. This is going to be powerful in how it impacts many individuals beyond our sports clubs.”
While 80% of available court time will be used by the current primary partners, over 10,000 hours of court time is available per year. CSA is in talks with potential major university partners and other organizations to offer daytime programming. Chesterfield Sports Association is seeking partners and donors who are dedicated to growing and supporting youth athletics in St. Louis in exchange for facility naming opportunities and other recognition. In addition to hosting volleyball and basketball clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments, the facility could be used for pickleball, futsal, wrestling, dance, cheer and other sports as space is available.
“This sports complex will be a center of recreation, community life and economic activity. St. Louis will finally get the world-class youth sporting facility it deserves,” said Tom Kaimain, Founding Principal of Mia Rose Holdings (MRH). “I am honored to be part of this amazing coalition of sporting organizations and to help bring this incredibly important vision to reality for Chesterfield and St. Louis.” In addition to multi-family and mixed-use developments, MRH has a strong niche developing and consulting for athletic facilities, including the Maryville University Hockey Center in Chesterfield Valley. This expertise grew out of Kaiman’s professional hockey career.
Most indoor basketball and volleyball facilities in St. Louis are operated by private and public schools and municipal governments. These facilities have significant limitations and liability concerns for hosting outside players and organizations, which has only increased during the coronavirus pandemic. None of the larger existing indoor court facilities was designed for volleyball and basketball, and many are 30 to 40 years old with failing infrastructure, poor ventilation systems, insufficient lighting, substandard flooring, insufficient seating and inadequate dimensions for safe and enjoyable play.
Due to the lack of safe and adequate facilities locally, local basketball and volleyball clubs currently must use multiple locations to meet their needs and tournament organizers turn to bigger venues in other Midwestern cities. In fact, Gateway Region Volleyball, the local chapter of USA Volleyball, has needed to move several large weekend events from local facilities to Cape Girardeau’s new 12-court facility over two hours away.
“The lack of local and quality facilities creates unnecessary obstacles and lost opportunities for local tournament organizers and businesses, as well as for players and their families who must travel out of town to participate,” said Duncan. “This new facility will alleviate that burden for athlete families.”
A major economic driver, the sports complex will generate jobs for coaches, referees, trainers, concession and maintenance workers ,and will bring local and out-of-town guests to the area to generate economic activity for local restaurants, hotels and retail establishments. CSA is purchasing land for potential future expansion.
For information about partnership opportunities, visit chesterfieldsports.com or email info@chesterfieldsports.com. To follow the development, follow chesterfieldsports on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
ABOUT CHESTERFIELD SPORTS ASSOCIATION
Founded in 2020, Chesterfield Sports Association (CSA) is a Chesterfield, MO-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was formed to give St. Louis youth the opportunity to grow, develop, and reach their highest potential as an athlete, student and individual. Stuart Duncan formed CSA after more than 20 years as a volunteer coach, tournament director, and board member for various local sports organizations. His passion for youth sports and development drives his mission for this new sports complex.
ABOUT MIA ROSE HOLDINGS
Founded in 2014, Mia Rose Holdings LLC (MRH) is a Chesterfield, MO-based commercial real estate development company that actively acquires and develops real estate to support the needs and vision of local communities. MRH provides comprehensive, first-class development services through partnerships with the best and brightest in commercial brokerage, engineering, architectural and construction services. MRH was formed in 2014 by Tom Kaiman who oversaw more than $1 billion in development during his previous 15 years of design and construction experience. For more information about Mia Rose Holdings, visit www.miaroseholdings.org
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