Kearney holds ‘topping off’ ceremony for upcoming SportsPlex

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) - The final beam has been placed on the city’s SportsPlex. The building is located at 1415 Younes Drive, neighboring The Younes Conference Center and where the new Kearney Visitors Bureau will be.

The mission was to bring an attraction to Kearney. Their first idea was to bring a casino and racetrack to Kearney, but that just didn’t fit the city. Which brought up the idea of a better community fit, a SportsPlex.

“We want something that’s more family orientated because we want Kearney to be seen as a community where you come to do family things and that’s how this fits,” said Mayor Stan Clouse. “So that’s when we decided to shift gears go away from the casino, the gambling those types of things and shift to something more family orientated.”

The SportsPlex will cost $45 million. Mayor Clouse said Kearney continues to grow as a community, and continues to invest in themselves. The ‘topping off’ was described as a ‘generational event’. It’s also an investment that can be a tourist attraction and a community hub.

“So we have kind of a public component that were going to have community members come in and access, but at the same token, we want to become a sports tourism destination,” said Lauren Brandt, Manager of Kearney SportsPlex. “So, we really want to put Kearney on the map and really bring in a lot of regional events; hopefully, one day a national event that draws thousands to Kearney.”

Brandt said they are blessed to have multiple hospitality options close to the facility, which will allow the effect of having a SportsPlex to trickle down to the rest of the community. The SportsPlex will feature basketball, volleyball, pickle ball, field turf and an indoor track.

“This is history,” said Brandt. “This is to be apart of this from the beginning in regards to you know I was in my previous role with the city. I got to see it go through the election process; and then just to really know what this is going to bring to the community, I can’t I truly can’t put it into words, watching I mean the amount of time that these guys have been out here and to devoted, and everybody else countless hours.”

Brandt said getting to this point was a community effort, and she isn’t the only one filled with joy from the ceremony.

“This is now, it’s real and you know a lot of communities are doing sport centers and complexes and things and so Kearney community is excited great opportunities for to host new events, expand on existing events and just something the community can be proud of,” said Mayor Clouse.

Clouse said he’s happy the city and community decided to build the SportsPlex because working together is how Kearney gets things done.

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