Negotiations continue between the City of Westfield and Grand Park Sports & Entertainment for management of Grand Park’s sports complex.
A resolution was introduced to the Westfield City Council in August to outline the terms of a public-private partnership with GPSE; however, that resolution has not yet been approved.
GPSE is a joint venture between Bullpen Tournaments and Indy Sports & Entertainment, the operator of Indy Eleven. Bullpen Tournaments operates baseball tournaments at Grand Park, while Indy Eleven is headquartered at Grand Park’s multiuse athletic fields.
Mayor Scott Willis told residents at a town hall meeting last month that negotiations slowed down after Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced plans to pursue an MLS expansion team, despite plans by Indy Eleven to develop a stadium in downtown Indianapolis.
“Myself and the council tapped the brakes when the whole Indy Eleven thing started to explode,” Willis said. “We thought it was in our best interest as a city to understand how that would play out before we moved forward. We’re now moving forward. I thought we’d have this done by now, but it’s complicated.”
Willis said attorneys for Westfield and GPSE are negotiating language in the agreement, but he sees potential for the deal to be complete and GPSE to take over park management in early 2025.
Regardless of management decisions at the sports complex, Willis said the city is focused on creating a vision for the future for the rest of Grand Park.
“What a visionary idea for (former) Mayor Andy Cook to come up with Grand Park,” Willis said at the town hall meeting Sept. 12 at Westfield Washington Library. “But Grand Park was always supposed to be an economic engine, a driver for our city. To date, it really hasn’t been. You see a lot of restaurants coming to Ind. 32, but I would argue that with our city’s population, those were coming regardless. But the location is certainly driven by the convenience to Grand Park.”
Willis said Kokomo has nearly 20 times more restaurants than Westfield, proof that the city isn’t leveraging its sports complex to the best of its ability.
“Grand Park has not met, in my opinion, the objective of being that economic engine,” he said. “So, we are trying to find ways to capture more of the revenue from tourists who are coming into our city. Last year, we had 5.5 million unique visits at Grand Park. But when you look at where dollars are being spent, we rank third or fourth in the county in tourism dollars. We have to do a better job.”
The city has developed a concept plan for the Grand Park area between Ind. 32 and 191st Street, and U.S. 31 to Spring Mill Road. The plan includes commercial development, mixed-use buildings, retail, residential and recreation opportunities.
“This is something we’re going to be spending a lot of time on over the next six months, carrying out this vision,” Willis said.
A master plan for the area is being developed and would likely include three phases over 10 years. A draft plan is expected to be presented to the city council this fall.
