An Idaho man is hoping to build a massive $120 million youth sports complex using mostly donations and corporate sponsorships.
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As youth sports facilities go, this proposal in a Boise, Idaho suburb is one of a kind
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14 artificial turf multi-use fields for baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, and soccer
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Eight indoor courts for basketball and volleyball. There will be tennis and pickleball courts, a 5,000-seat stadium, hotels, restaurants
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a family entertainment center, and an RV parking lot. Calling David McMenemy's vision ambitious hardly does it justice
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especially considering the father of two and Little League coach has no experience turning a $120 million dream into reality
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But if he can pull it off, it would change the way communities experience youth sports
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Most youth sports megaparks are public-private partnerships, with millions in backing from local and state governments and millions more from commercial developers
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The city of CUNA, Idaho donated 20 of the 114 acres proposed for McMinnomy's project
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And that's it. Everything else will be paid for by corporate and private donations and potential naming rights deals
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It's going to have to be a unique set of donors who step up and say, let's do something different
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This is totally a Rudy story. It's just like the least likely, most unassuming person to do this job
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So, yes, it's very, it's unique. McMinimi's vision is twofold. He wants to build a high-end complex to attract regional and national tournaments to the area
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Youth sports tourism at its finest. A one-stop shop environment that caters to elite youth athletes, leagues, and their families that travel around the country to compete
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You're going to bring money into the local economy there. And that exactly what will happen in our region There is nothing like it in the Northwest So we are planning to build hotels and have restaurants so families can enjoy themselves This will likely attract
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close to 3 million people a year into this area. So the amount of impressions that a corporate
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sponsor is going to get is significant. Counter to those economics is using part of the complex
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as a daily community center of sorts, busing kids in for a couple of hours after school
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so they can play pickup games with volunteer officials or learn from coaches for free
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Most sports complexes, no matter the size, generate income by renting out fields and facilities
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for an hourly or daily fee, sometimes in the hundreds of dollars
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I think we've over-monetized sports for these kids who are 7, 8 years old going to pitching lessons and lifting
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and doing all the stuff to try to get them ahead in their sport
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but we're completely missing the most important ingredient, which is, do you love it
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McMinemy uses a football ogy to describe his fundraising progress, saying his team is on their own 10 or 15-yard line in terms of raising the full $120 million
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But the CUNA City Council has approved commercial zoning for the land
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which has already raised its value. He needs that one donor to write a check that will get a shovel into the ground
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I think a large corporate sponsor coming in to say, we're behind this. We see this vision. We love youth sports and we love this area. Somebody who's willing to come behind it and say we want to put our name on a building and stand behind the legacy of what this will create. I think we'll invite other sponsors and other donors to say, OK, that water's safe. Let's do it
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McMinemy also needs the CUNA City Council to approve the official construction plan
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They could vote on that sometime in the fall of 2026. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis
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