SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Betty and Bobby Allison Sports Town opened up its indoor facility with several courts Friday afternoon.

“Post-pandemic construction was really tough,” Owner Stan Liedel said. “It’s getting supplies, having enough help for subcontractors. So it’s a long journey. But we’re super excited to open today and open for the community. There are lots of kids that need to get in here quickly.”

Sports Town opened back in the summer with its 12 outdoor soccer fields that sit across from the Springfield-Branson National airport. Four of the fields outside are turf fields. The indoor facility is the last thing to open on campus.

“The growth in sports can’t happen until you have enough facilities to grow too,” Liedel said. “This facility will allow the sports to expand here and allow more people to play sports, including adults. Once our youth programming ends for the day, that’s when our adults generally take over around 8:30 at night.”

Sports Town has four full-sized basketball courts which convert into eight volleyball courts. There are also two indoor soccer fields. All courts will be home to several local, regional, and national tournaments.

“We’re enrolling right now for indoor soccer leagues and or football leagues,” Liedel said. “We have volleyball in the youth right now. This is their season, so all our courts are taken up with that, but there’ll be opportunities for everybody all throughout the year. So if they visit our website they’ll be able to find out what programming we have.”

For families looking to have a pick-up basketball or volleyball game, Liedel suggests calling Sports Town at 417-530-1600 and asking about renting a court. But, Springfield is home to many other sports complexes.

“Cooper Park right now is our largest sports complex,” Springfield Greene County Park Board Public Information Administrator Jenny Fillmer Edwards said. “So this is a major draw for tournaments, both statewide, high school-wide, as well as regional and even some national tournaments.”

Cooper Park Sports Complex will undergo $25 million in improvements.

“The first phase is eight soccer fields will have synthetic turf installed,” Edwards said. “The second phase of the project is six softball and five baseball fields, adding turf to those.”

The goal is to keep up with the growing demand for sporting events in and around Springfield.

“It’s just really exciting seeing all of the new things that are happening in Springfield for sports,” Edwards said. “It’s just a lot more opportunity for our athletes and their families. It’s great for Springfield’s economy and it’s great for families that play here and that already travel to other communities.”