West Virginia Executive Spring/Summer 2020 | Page 64

Economic Grand Slam
Mountain State Sports Tourism
LORI KERSEY
Highland Sports Complex.
Photo by Sports Facility Management.
Bridgeport Indoor Sports &
Recreation Complex.
Photo by Omni & Associates.
Valley Park. Photo by ZMM Architects & Engineers.
In the Mountain State, sports complexes drive more than
just physical fitness and family fun—they also drive tourism.
Across West Virginia, state-of-the-art sports facilities bring in
athletes and spectators who book hotel rooms, eat at restaurants
and shop at stores.
From the soon-to-be-open Highlands Sports Complex and
Bridgeport Indoor Sports & Recreation Complex to Kanawha
County’s proven Shawnee Sports Complex to the new sports
fields and facilities at Valley Park in Putnam County and Mylan
Park in Morgantown, West Virginia’s tourism industry is hitting
it out of the park with these additions.
Aquatic & Track Center at Mylan Park
At Mylan Park in Morgantown, the 90,000-square-foot
Aquatic & Track Center generates tourism with year-round
swimming club activity. The aquatic center facility has an eightlane
Olympic pool and seating for up to 1,500 spectators. The
eight-lane track and field complex has seating for 1,200 spectators
and was designed to host track and field meets, events, camps
and clinics. While the swimming facility was just completed in
November 2019, in February it hosted the Big 12 Swimming
and Diving Championship.
“The hotel stays, lodging and spending generated through
teams and spectators staying in town and folks traveling into
this area from other parts of the state for local competitions has
been tremendous,” says Keith Hernstrom, executive director of
Mylan Park. “That will only grow as we attract larger caliber
events where people are coming in and spending multiple days and
really being patrons of Morgantown and Monongalia County.”
Bridgeport Indoor Sports & Recreation Complex
When completed in the spring of 2021, the Bridgeport Indoor
Sports & Recreation Complex will be Bridgeport’s hub for sports
tournaments, events and conferences. The 157,000-squarefoot
facility will include a fieldhouse with six multipurpose
athletic courts, a walking track, an indoor turf and competition
and warm-up pools.
“This project will serve as a hub of social activity in our
community with both the indoor and outdoor complexes,” says
Andrea Kerr, director of community and economic development
for the City of Bridgeport. “Bridgeport has always promoted
quality of life, and the city council understands the importance
of that locally, statewide and regionally. This facility will bring
groups to our state where they will hopefully stay for a few
days and enjoy all that West Virginia has to offer.”
Bridgeport leaders hope the complex adds to a city that’s
already an attractive place for businesses and families to relocate.
“This facility is not only good for Bridgeport, but we feel it
will have an impact on the entire region,” says Kerr. “We look
at that as a win-win. It is our hope that this helps build our
community to make it home to more commercial, industrial
and residential growth.”
Highland Sports Complex
Highland Sports Complex is soon to be completed in Triadelphia,
WV, and major sports tournaments have already expressed
interest in locating there. The facility will boast six volleyball and
basketball courts, an 88,000-square-foot turf area, four batting
cages and pitching tunnels, as well as meeting and event space.
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WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE