Bell Bank Park, the massive 320-acre amateur and youth sports complex in East Mesa, is opening this week – bringing to the city the promise of a new revenue stream and a new national claim to fame.
Legacy Sports USA, the founder of the $280-million facility near Ellsworth and Pecos roads, is preparing to open its fields and courts for the first time as part of a soft opening for parents and athletes.
It also hosted several high school soccer matches as part of the AZ Soccer Showcase last week on its sprawling set of artificial turf fields and held a friends and family event this weekend.
Tomorrow, Jan. 3, it will welcome the public for the first time to walk the grounds and meet tournament and sports directors.
“It’s so exciting,” said Chad Miller, the CEO of Legacy Sports USA and alumnus of Mesquite High School. “To bring something like this to where we grew up. This is our home and it means so much to us.”
For sports enthusiasts, Bell Bank Park means a 3,000-seat outdoor stadium, as eSports arena, an indoor arena, 31 soccer/lacrosse/football fields, 57 indoor volleyball courts, eight baseball and adult softball fields, 16 fastpitch softball and Little League baseball fields, 20 basketball courts, 48 pickleball courts, 12 beach volleyball courts, an obstacle course racing park, 23 futsal courts, a gymnastics center, dance studio, cheer center, sports performance center, family fitness center, wellness center, kids play center, 2.7 acre great lawn for concerts and events and a 17,000-square-foot sports restaurant and bar.
The first tournaments for several of the youth sports organizations that partnered with Legacy Sports USA will take place Friday. Chad said that will be the first true test of how the park will fare with upwards of 45,000 people visiting the park that weekend. He and his team estimate 5.5 million people to visit the park per year.
Some amenities are still under construction, including the zipline in Miller Way, a walkway that connects two of the main complex’s main building that houses the eSports Arena, basketball courts and gymnastics center. Full completion is slated for February.
“The closest thing we ever had growing up was Disney’s Wide World of Sports on the East Coast,” Chad said. “On the West Coast and particularly here in Arizona, we never had anything available to us. For so long club teams here would have to go out of state to experience these national level tournaments. Now Arizona has Bell Bank Park to call its own.”
It’s more than that to Mesa – even if its residents never set foot in the complex, according to Mayor John Giles, who noted this is “the largest youth and amateur sports complex in the United States.”
For one thing, it’s a new source of sports tourism revenue for the city, which already reaps millions annually as a host to two spring baseball venues. Adding to the direct tax benefits the city sees is the broad economic impact Bell Bank Park will have for hotels, restaurants and other businesses in Mesa.
Last year, Mesa Economic Development Director Bill Jabjiniak called the complex “a great opportunity for the city.”
“This is something people will talk about around the country,’’ Jabjiniak said.
Giles told the Tribune: “This is a continuation of something that’s a proven successful part of our economy. Particularly, with regard to youth and amateur sports – which is kind of recession-proof. People are going to take Susie to her soccer tournament, even if they have to put it on the credit card. It’s very exciting from an economic impact perspective.”
Beyond money is the cachet Mesa now will have as the host city to the complex, he added.
“We’re going to see people regionally, nationally and internationally traveling to Mesa, Arizona, specifically for this complex,” Giles predicted.
Legacy partnered with several youth and adult organizations that will bring a variety of sports to the park. One of those organizations is Arizona Arsenal, one of the state’s largest and most well-known club soccer programs.
Arsenal became the flagship club last March and will utilize its turf fields and main stadium that seats just over 5,000 people for its matches.
David Belfort, the technical director for Arizona Arsenal and the club soccer director at the park, said it provides youth players a new opportunity to play on a large stage. He expects most of the Arsenal teams to utilize the fields for practices throughout the club season.
With 31 fields and a stadium, he believes it creates an opportunity for more clubs and college coaches to flock to the state.
“I think this facility can really bring a different experience that people will be attracted to,” Belfort said. “Just with the AZ Soccer Showcase all the junior colleges in the area and the NAIAs were all present and they’re wide-eyed as they watched games. There’s definitely a buzz around it.”
Along with Arsenal, Legacy also partnered with ELITE Youth Football, which will be rebranded as ELITE Football Powered by Legacy Sports USA. Currently, ELITE sponsors 20 youth football teams in the Chandler area.
At Legacy, ELITE will expand and offer boys and girls flag football leagues, 7-on-7 leagues and adult flag football leagues. There will also be an ELITE Football Academy, ELITE club football teams, the ELITE Bears tackle teams – a local Chandler team that routinely competes for national championships – and kids camps and NFL player camps.
The park also plans to host the Association of Pickleball Professionals Tour from Jan. 4-9 as part of its season kick off. The Professional Tour of Pickleball, another organization in a booming sport, will also descend upon Bell Bank Park for a stop in February. National Pickleball will also host two amateur events at Bell Bank. All three organizations will utilize the park’s 41 courts.
In March, Bell Bank will host Trilogy Lacrosse for its Elite Spring Break Training Camps, where some of the top high school lacrosse players from across the country will train for four weeks. Also, in March, West Coast Premier Baseball plans to its month-long spring training series on the park’s eight baseball and softball fields.
Other partnerships include Jam On It AAU Basketball, the Arizona Gym Rats and the 2022 USA Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s Development Program National Championships.
“We are very excited to open it and there’s been an influx of people reaching out to us telling us how excited they are for it to open,” said Brett Miller, president of Legacy Sports USA. “Do I wish I was younger and could play on all of the fields? Absolutely. But we are excited to see some smiles.”
One of the park’s most unique partnerships is with the Arizona Cactus Football League, an adult semi-professional league that allows players to continue competing in the sport they love beyond their high school, college or professional careers.
The league will feature eight teams, reduced from 16 the year prior. Three games will take place every Saturday beginning in February inside the park’s main stadium.
Matt Archer, the owner of the AZCFL, aims to take his league to new heights in the next year or two. He plans to get away from the stigma of being a club league and turn into a developmental association for players looking to go on to the next level. He believes that becomes easier with the exposure his league will receive while playing at Bell Bank Park.
“I think it will help us set the standard for what developmental football at this level is,” Archer said. “All of our teams will be prepared, and our teams will be prepared for what it’s like to play in front of organic fans. Preparing our players and showing them what it will be like if they move on to the next level is what I’m really trying to get out of it.”
While the park itself was fast-tracked and built in six months, the vision was 30 years in the making. Brett and Chad both collaborated with their father, Randy, who is the founder of Legacy Sports USA, to come up with the idea for the massive sports and entertainment complex.
Brett, who graduated from Corona del Sol in Tempe, and Chad never had the opportunity to play in big venues growing up. But they wanted to create a space that would double as sports and entertainment venue for families and athletes to enjoy.
They did that. And the fact they were able to do it together as a family makes it even more special.
“Whenever we got together for family gatherings, this would be the topic of conversation,” Brett said. “You can’t beat family. This is a family entertainment park and it’s an idea that was created by my dad for my brother and me. For us to live and breathe this, there’s not better feeling.”
For more information about Bell Bank Park, visit legacysportsusa.com.