Chesterfield Sports Complex expected to open March 1

Roughly 50 people attended a groundbreaking event on Tuesday, Aug. 9 for a Chesterfield Valley sports complex that will give local youth a place to play their sport and bring new sports tourism to the region.

The Chesterfield Sports Complex, a 97,000-square-foot fieldhouse for indoor volleyball and basketball, is expected to open March 1.

It will be owned and operated by the Chesterfield Sports Association (CSA), which saw the need for such a facility in the region.

Due to the lack of adequate facilities locally, basketball and volleyball clubs currently must drive to multiple locations to meet their needs and tournament organizers turn to bigger venues in other midwestern cities.

"This is all about the youth of St. Louis," said Stuart Duncan, CSA executive director.

The fieldhouse, once complete, will feature nine state-of-the-art basketball courts with Olympic level flooring that convert to 18 volleyball courts, professional-grade LED lighting and HD/4K streaming cameras.

There will also be a fitness area; multipurpose rooms for team rooms, meetings, and classes; court side and second-floor mezzanine spectator seating; lounge areas and concessions.

The fieldhouse is located at 150 N. Eatherton Road, with easy access to highways, hotels, restaurants and local businesses.

It's expected to attract an estimated 900,000 visitors each year to its clinics, camps, leagues and tournaments. More than 1,000 youth athletes will practice and train during the week, and over 2,500 athletes will play in league and tournament games each weekend.

Tournaments will bring people from out of town who will spend money locally instead of somewhere else. Some that have already been scheduled include a gymnastic tournament in March, and three Bradley Beal Elite basketball tournaments and a martial arts tournament in 2023.

"The other thing this facility is going to do is bring in regional and national tournaments so that will lead to a great economic impact driver," Duncan said. "This is a great area with all the hotels, restaurants, retail and things like that, so it's going to be super exciting."

The CSA has partnered with several youth sports organizations that will play in the new facility, including High Performance-STL; Stratman Sports; CNR Basketball and Bradley Beal Elite.

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.

"We all have one mission, take care of the youth of St. Louis," Duncan said.

The quest for a multi-court, 97,000-square-foot fieldhouse for indoor volleyball and basketball in Chesterfield is finally going to become a reality.

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