Our facility officially gets its name, Bluegrass Fieldhouse. Read about it in this article from the Messenger-Inquirer, posted here with permission.
City unveils name of downtown sportsplex
By James Mayse
Messenger-Inquirer
Officials christened the city’s $18 million indoor sports facility Tuesday afternoon, with city and tourism officials claiming the facility would bring sports teams — and their money — to town regularly for tournaments.
The facility was named “Bluegrass Fieldhouse” by city staff, with the logo designed by Oddball Creative, an Owensboro firm.
While the name was chosen by the city, the company marketing the indoor sports facility is seeking businesses interested in putting their name on the building or inside it.
“This is an exciting day,” City Manager Nate Pagan told the audience at Tuesday’s name announcement at the Owensboro Convention Center.
Pagan said the indoor sportsplex will become “a premier destination for sports tourism and sports tournaments across Kentucky and across the region.”
The 88,000-square-foot sportsplex being built on Third Street will contain seven full-size basketball courts, which can be divided for other sports such as pickleball.
There is also an area for indoor soccer and futsal, and officials have said they hope to attract basketball, volleyball, pickleball, cheerleading, dance and other indoor tournaments to the city.
“Owensboro has a well-established and well-developed reputation for sports tourism,” Pagan said, but added “that’s primarily for outdoor facilities.”
While the city has long worked to attract baseball and football tournaments to Fisher Park, space for indoor tournaments is limited to the Owensboro Sportscenter and the removable sports floors at the convention center.
Officials determined the city needed an indoor sportsplex “as being key to continuing our growth and development of our sports tourism and sports culture,” Pagan said.
Shaelie Velez, city communications and marketing manager, said officials wanted the logo “to be along the lines of the city branding, but not exactly,” with similar colors and a unique look.
“We had a group of us select the name,” Velez said, adding they wanted “Bluegrass” in the name because Kentucky is known as the “Bluegrass State.”
“We thought that would resonate through the whole state,” Velez said.
Meanwhile, “ ‘Fieldhouse’ is an iconic name for facilities,” she said.
Mark Calitri, head of the Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said city officials took “Owensboro one giant step forward today.”
“As we look at Owensboro and tourism, it’s not just a building being built. It’s an economic generating machine,” Calitri said. “You’re going to (see) that building packed with fans all year long, and that impact is going to be immediate.”
Officials have said previously that sports tournaments will mean people staying in hotels during events, eating in local restaurants and generally spending money in stores.
Calitri said people coming to Owensboro for sports tournaments will learn about the city, which could lead to them bringing businesses and moving to town.
“Tourism is the front door of economic development,” Calitri said.
Later, Calitri said, “What we’ve created here is Owensboro’s unique opportunity … with the amazing riverfront we have, all the signature events we have going on year-round with the buzz and excitement. We have the hotels; we have the great restaurants and we have the shops. We’ve become a very valuable opportunity for these tournament planners.”
Additions such as the Malibu Jack’s entertainment facility in the former Towne Square Mall property will also make the city attractive to sports tournaments, Calitri said.
“When we add all this up together, it becomes an opportunity for us to live up to Owensboro’s title of ‘Kentucky’s number one sports town,’ ” he said.
The sportsplex will be managed by OVG360, which also manages the convention center and Sportscenter.
Jeff Esposito, general manager for OVG in Owensboro, said several tournaments have already been booked for the facility.
Thus far, one tournament is scheduled for August, while five tournaments are on the books between January and March of next year. Construction of the sportsplex is scheduled to be complete this summer.
Esposito said OVG is interested in sponsors.
“We are working on naming rights, a variety of sponsors, even if people are interested in having their name on a court,” Esposito said. “There’s plenty of opportunity, so if folks have an idea, certainly bring it to us. We’re happy to consider it. I think there is room for a lot of different-sized businesses in addition to a naming rights sponsor.”