Former MLB player and Irving native Blake Bevan will open a new youth sports facility in North Texas.
ROANOKE, Texas — This article was originally published by content partners of the Dallas Business Journal. Read the original article here.
A 122-acre youth sports complex is set to be built in Roanoke as family entertainment becomes popular in the Metroplex.
The city of Roanoke announced on social media on July 19 that Play It Forward plans to bring a sports and entertainment venue to the Denton County city, which has a population of about 10,000.
According to the developers, work on the project is expected to begin within the next few weeks, with an opening planned for sometime in 2025. The exact timeline for the project is still being finalized.
Plans also include retail space and a hotel. The total cost of the project is estimated to be between $60 million and $70 million, according to developer 114 Development Group.
The proposed sports complex at State Route 114 and Cleveland Gibbs Road will feature five baseball fields and three soccer fields. The turf fields will also accommodate practice and competition for sports including lacrosse, softball and football. Weekly youth sports tournaments will be held, with proceeds going towards scholarships for local athletes.
The project represents a public-private partnership between the developer and the city of Roanoke, and the two have been working together since 2020, said Dave Dixon, managing partner of 114 Development.
Dixon said he and his team chose Roanoke in part because of its location on Interstate 114 and because the city has a reputation for experiential development.
Dixon and Blake Bevan are driving the vision for Play It Forward: Dixon is an entrepreneur with a background in finance and Bevan is a former major league player and current director of operations for the Dallas Tigers, a select youth and high school baseball team that will use the venue for practices and tournaments.
Located minutes from downtown Roanoke, the complex comes as North Texas welcomes the youth sports community. Several sports and entertainment-focused complexes have sprung up in recent years, showcasing the allure of a burgeoning region. Pickleball facilities, complete with entertainment and dining options, have become especially popular.
The Dallas Stars are building a youth sports facility in Farmers Branch that will include several volleyball and basketball courts, and in Louisville the club owns MAC, a 38,000-square-foot youth sports facility.
The Play It Forward complex will be the hub of the project, which includes sports arenas, upscale shopping and dining venues, a hotel and more than 1,000 parking spaces, concessions, shaded seating for spectators and a network of walking paths surrounding the arenas, according to the company’s website.
“Play It Forward looks forward to building on its reputation as a leader in youth sports in North Texas and supporting the next generation of athletes,” Dixon added.
“Youth sports play a vital role in fostering community spirit and providing a healthy environment for children to develop physically, improve their overall health and build fundamental life skills such as cooperation, leadership and resilience,” Dixon said in a statement.
