By RICHARD ESSEX
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
The closing of Grand Park until at least June 1 is expected to cost the city of Westfield and central Indiana $85 million in lost revenue.
Cook
The signs are almost everywhere around the park, two words with a crushing effect on the Central Indiana economy: Park Closed. Westfield Mayor Andy Cook is a champion for Grand Park.
“Its purpose in creating it was not to have an income from sports but to actually diversify our tax bases and build a tax base, and in this case, the tax base is tourism and youth sports,” Cook said.
This would have been the sixth full season for Grand Park and should have been a destination for 2.5 million people coming into the area.
The park has become an economic engine for this slice of Hamilton County. The 400-acre park holds 26 baseball and softball diamonds, 31 soccer or multipurpose fields and has given life to dozens of hotels and restaurants that have sprung out of the fields surrounding the park. They all depend on the traffic generated by the park.
City maintenance crews have assumed upkeep of the grounds and buildings for the time being. (Reporter file photo)
A special taxing district set up to finance the park generated just enough revenue last year to meet operational costs. But this year without the crowds, it is considerably different.
Cook told News 8 that most of the maintenance contracts for Grand Park have been canceled or postponed until further notice. City crews are doing the mowing and keeping up the appearance for the time being.
“And obviously we don’t have to maintain them pristine, competition-type condition. We are in a maintenance mode only right now,” said Cook.
Grand Park is also home to the Colts training facility. Cook said the team continues to make improvements to their facility.
Cook said he believes youth sports will open up this year; however, with unemployment at a near-historic level, the question remains: Will people travel and spend money for youth sports like they have in the past?