*To view the answers, click on the question.
What are the details of the Noblesville Fieldhouse project?
- The 130,000 square foot Noblesville Fieldhouse at Finch Creek Park would include five hardwood courts, 75,000 square feet of indoor turf, a 10,000-square-foot physical therapy office and an indoor/outdoor concessions area. The Noblesville Fieldhouse would house tournaments for volleyball and basketball teams with other competitive events for cheerleading, as well as new sports growing in popularity such as futsal and pickleball. Indoor turf fields with nine batting cages and three pitching lanes would allow for baseball and softball practice, as well as games for soccer, flag football and lacrosse. In addition, the developer has announced plans for a potential 200-meter indoor track that will surround the turf fields and be approved by USA Track and Field, which makes hosting indoor track and field events a possibility.
Why is Noblesville getting into youth sports?
- City officials have heard from our local sports teams that they need more room to practice, for games – and closer to home so they don’t always have to travel far. So, we’re fulfilling a need that’s currently not being met in our community. Plus, the Fieldhouse will help jumpstart construction of Finch Creek Park and support all the development of the area near Exit 210.
Why doesn’t the city just build the Fieldhouse and operate it?
- It takes 300-400 employees to staff a fieldhouse of this size with all the amenities that are planned. The city doesn’t have this level of expertise, and we’re resistant to add more employees to the city’s payrolls. We’d rather partner with a private industry expert to build, operate and market the facility to ensure it’s used to its maximum potential. Plus, if the city built the Fieldhouse, it would remain a tax-free property rather than a tax-generating facility that essentially pays for itself. This public-private partnership allows an industry expert to do what it does best, while the city is ensured of having a community amenity available to local sports teams and our youth. Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities would own, operate and market the Fieldhouse.
How is the city going to pay for this project?
- The City of Noblesville has announced its plans to partner with Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities LLC to build a new $15 million youth sports facility on Boden Road through a public-private partnership. To help fund the project, the City of Noblesville will contribute $300,000 per year of new revenue from the facility’s property taxes and offset by the sale of 10 acres of land for $500,000. In addition, Noblesville would contribute a maximum of $250,000 of new dollars annually to supplement new property taxes from the facility – a figure that will be driven lower as the facility generates more of its own property taxes to fund itself. No taxpayer dollars – or funds from the 2016 change to the trash ordinance – are going into the construction or operation of the Noblesville Fieldhouse. Ultimately, had the land remained only a city park, there would be zero property tax dollars generated, so this project nearly pays for itself, leaving a private entity to build the $15 million facility.
What is the developer investing in the project?
- The developer (Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities LLC) is responsible for paying for all capital items for their project including prepping the site, bringing utilities to the site as well as all construction including the parking lots surrounding the facility. They will also pay for any additional detention needed for their building and parking lots. All operating costs are to be owned by the developer, which would include maintenance.
Can the City really afford to help fund this project given all our other needs?
- Much of the City’s help funding the project comes from the facility itself. A maximum of $250,000 of new dollars would be contributed annually from the Corporate Campus East TIF to supplement new property taxes from the facility. In return, our community will gain a first-rate youth sports complex that will support local youth sports, attract athletic tournaments from outside our region and bring greater tourism spending to support Noblesville including hotels, restaurants and retail businesses.
- Even with the $250,000 maximum annual payments from the Corporate Campus TIF to support the Noblesville Fieldhouse, we see positive cash balances in the near future. And the current TIF schedule does not yet include the revenues we’ll see from upcoming retail such as Duluth Trading, which is likely to bring in $150,000 annually, and BJs Restaurant, which is likely to bring in $30,000 annually – as well as all the retail out lots now in construction in Saxony Marketplace.
What does Phase I of Finch Creek Park mean?
- The City has budgeted $8.9 million for phase I, which includes all utility relocation, infrastructure, roads, park parking, play areas, landscape, lighting and more. The anticipated park amenities included in the first phase of construction include three shelters, a restroom, age appropriate playgrounds, a spray ground, basketball and pickleball courts, park parking lots, a large berm utilized as a play feature, trail connections and a maintenance facility. Because the first phase of construction includes infrastructure, and is the most expensive, the city anticipates the cost for later phases of construction will not be so high.
Why are you building a park on the east side of town?
- Fifty-six percent (56%) of the Noblesville housing permits are coming from east of State Road 37. The City’s five current parks are all located west of 37 so those residents on the east side of town do not have park amenities in close proximity to their homes. A park on the east side has been on the Master Plan, approved by the Park Board and City Council, since 2008.
- When Noblesville first began planning Finch Creek Park, a community center operated by a third party was always part of our initial design. Our plans have changed somewhat to include the Fieldhouse instead – which is very similar to a community center. It’s located about 600 feet north of the neighborhood, or the same distance as nearly two football fields. It will be lit by new LED lighting technology that is far less intrusive than standard lighting you would expect from a parking lot surrounding a 130,000-square-foot facility. And the neighborhood will be buffered by a 12- to 15-foot high landscaped berm and traditional playground amenities that have always been part of the City’s plan. In the end, yes the plans changed – but this is no different than what happens with any other development.
Why is this needed when Westfield has Grand Park for youth sports?
- The Noblesville Fieldhouse helps jumpstart the construction of the City’s sixth park on the east side of Noblesville. Even with the Fieldhouse, which makes up only five percent of the total park acreage, the City has no plans to turn Finch Creek Park into a sports complex. Original plans for Finch Creek included a recreation facility with a potential YMCA and several outdoor athletic fields to address youth sports’ needs. The Noblesville Fieldhouse would be similar to Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities LLC other building, Jonathan Byrd Fieldhouse at Grand Park, which often gets confused with the Events Center at Grand Park. They are completely separate entities.
- Our local sports teams in Noblesville need more room to practice and for games – that are closer to home so they don’t always have to travel. So, we’re fulfilling a need that’s currently not being met locally.
- In addition, the Noblesville Fieldhouse will become part of a County-wide strategy for youth sports. Given all the sports facilities in the area, Hamilton County will continue to evolve into a major powerhouse in youth sports and attract major youth sports tournaments. Together, we can attract tournaments that might otherwise go to Chicago, and instead, keep those tourism dollars here in Hamilton County.
Will my child get to use the Fieldhouse or is it mainly to attract tournaments and guests?
- The City’s contribution ensures that local sports clubs and Noblesville children have the opportunity to play at the Fieldhouse. The agreement as approved by Council on December 20, 2016 guarantees that any Noblesville-based organization/club/501c(3) receive a 25 percent discount on the rental rate of the facility during the week. Klipsch-Card is responsible for renting the facility 100 percent of the time with the City “purchasing rental time” as needed and subject to availability – but steps will be taken to ensure rental availability if a reasonable amount of notice is given.
- Noblesville Schools’ officials said their facilities are currently used by 535 different groups per year totaling approximately 15,000 hours of programming a year. Some groups even meet as early as 5:30 a.m. to get space. There is very little capacity for any additional groups and often no availability at all which causes the district to frequently turn groups away because of a lack of space.
Why is the Boys & Girls Club getting involved with the Fieldhouse?
- With the Fieldhouse partnering with the Boys & Girls Club, their courts become part of the mix of courts available for weekend tournaments. As a nonprofit, they can better fulfill their mission, strengthen their financial base and potentially engage more with parents and kids on the east side. This rental strategy protects the weekday evenings of current member families while ensuring enough courts are available for major regional tournaments on the weekends.
- The administration, council and park board will ultimately have to make that decision. It is currently in the resolution that the city will make 10 additional acres available for future expansion as we have discussed during this entire process. That total (20 acres) still leaves Finch Creek with 183 acres of park land.
Can the roads out there really handle a youth sports facility?
- To best manage the growth of our community, the City of Noblesville carefully evaluates its road conditions and traffic congestion patterns. One reason we are excited for the addition of the Noblesville Fieldhouse at Finch Creek Park is the support this project will bring to the business community near Exit 210 and Hamilton Town Center, and the amenities it offers nearby residents.
- The city’s Engineering Department completed a Traffic Impact Study in fall 2015. According to the summary report from this study, no existing intersection along Boden Road from Campus Parkway to SR 38 within the city’s jurisdiction is below the level of service expected for traffic congestion.
- Where Finch Creek Park and the Noblesville Fieldhouse are to be located on Boden Road, and reasonable traffic is expected, the city’s planned acceleration/deceleration lanes and passing blisters for each entrance are expected to offset upfront impacts and reduce congestion. In addition, sufficient parking on site is also imperative for interior circulation and to alleviate congestion. As development occurs along the corridor, the City will continue to monitor conditions and plan for appropriate improvements. Based on this data, the Engineering Department recommended that the intersection of Boden Road and 156th Street be evaluated for improvement in 2019 or 2020. Meanwhile, Boden Road and SR 38 is not under the City’s jurisdiction and any improvements at that intersection would need to be scheduled by INDOT.
