9/21/2011 – Madison County Journal – Steven G. Watson – Associate Editor
MADISON – City leaders have approved the first phase of a mammoth 110-acre sports
complex here that will include a state-of-the-art sports training and therapy center.
The project, located just north of Madison on 400 acres owned by St. Dominic’s, will be known as The Esplanade.
The complex will feature more than a dozen baseball and softball fields, several soccer fields and a number of other amenities.
The Madison Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved a site plan and building permit for the first phase of the project, which will include a sports training and therapy center known as D1 outsourced to a Nashville firm and three initial practice fields.
St. Dominic’s is currently appealing the state’s decision to reject a proposed $121 million hospital to the east of the site.
Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler said the decision was the beginning of something very special for Madison.
“Thank you for working with us,” she told St. Dominic’s officials. “This is something new and something we can all be proud of.”
The inclusion of the D1 facility is part of a St. Dominic’s vision, according to Executive Vice President Lester Diamond.
“This is a project we’ve been working on for the last several years,” Diamond said. “We look at this as an extension of St. Dominic’s mission. How do we keep our community healthy? You start a program in the city with athletic fields that are badly needed in the community.”
Architect Tad Shultz showed aldermen the master plan of the complex saying it would be a first in the United States.
Along with a wealth of baseball, softball and soccer fields, St. Dominic’s would play an active role.
“It’s a sports complex backed by a health service system,” Shultz said. “It will also serve as an economic engine and a resource for the community to use.”
Once completely built out the complex will include:
• 1 full sized signature baseball field
• 1 full sized signature soccer field
• 4 full sized baseball fields
• 8 little league baseball & softball fields
• 6 full sized soccer fields
• 4 junior sized soccer fields
• Wellness Center
• Playground
• Amphitheater
• Hotel and Conference Facility
The first phase will include the D1 facility, a Nashville-based company that specializes in training high school and college-level athletes.
Founded in 2002, the company now has 13 different locations in seven states, including two in Alabama, one in Arkansas and three in Tennessee. This will be the first D1 facility in Mississippi.
Shultz said the proposed D1 building design is unique and features a 4-foot steel arch on the front and back with large glass windows and doors dominating the facade.
The back of the building is designed to mimic the front and faces three planned practice fields that can be converted for soccer, football or baseball use.
Shultz said these fields would be standard grass practice fields, but the future phases of the project would bring fields with artificial turf and state-of-the-art drainage systems.
Developers hope to begin construction immediately with Diamond reporting the D1 facility plans on opening sometime next May to take advantage of the summer months when athletes are preparing for the upcoming school year.