Idaho dad has $120 million vision to change the youth sports facilities game

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00:00As youth sports facilities go, this proposal in a Boise, Idaho suburb is one-of-a-kind.

00:0514 artificial turf multi-use fields for baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, and soccer.

00:12Eight indoor courts for basketball and volleyball.

00:15There will be tennis and pickleball courts, a 5,000-seat stadium, hotels, restaurants,

00:21a family entertainment center, and an RV parking lot.

00:25Calling David McMenemy's vision ambitious hardly does it justice,

00:29especially considering the father of two and Little League coach

00:33has no experience turning a $120 million dream into reality.

00:38But if he can pull it off, it would change the way communities experience youth sports.

00:45Most youth sports megaparks are public-private partnerships

00:48with millions in backing from local and state governments

00:52and millions more from commercial developers.

00:55The city of CUNA, Idaho donated 20 of the 114 acres proposed for McMenemy's project.

01:01And that's it.

01:03Everything else will be paid for by corporate and private donations

01:06and potential naming rights deals.

01:08It's going to have to be a unique set of donors who step up and say,

01:14let's do something different.

01:16This is totally a Rudy story.

01:18You know, it's just like the least likely, most unassuming person to do this job.

01:23So, yes, it's very, it's unique.

01:26McMenemy's vision is twofold.

01:28He wants to build a high-end complex to attract regional and national tournaments to the area.

01:34Youth sports tourism at its finest.

01:36A one-stop shop environment that caters to elite youth athletes,

01:40leagues, and their families that travel around the country to compete.

01:44You're going to bring money into the local economy there.

01:47And that's exactly what will happen in our region.

01:50There is nothing like it in the Northwest.

01:52So, we are planning to build hotels and have restaurants so families can enjoy themselves.

01:59This will likely attract, you know, close to 3 million people a year into this area.

02:05So, the amount of impressions that a corporate sponsor is going to get is significant.

02:10Counter to those economics is using part of the complex as a daily community center of sorts.

02:15Bussing kids in for a couple of hours after school so they can play pickup games with volunteer officials

02:21or learn from coaches for free.

02:23Most sports complexes, no matter the size, generate income by renting out fields and facilities

02:29for an hourly or daily fee, sometimes in the hundreds of dollars.

02:33I think we've over-monetized sports for these kids who are 7, 8 years old,

02:39going to pitching lessons and lifting and doing all the stuff to try to get them ahead in their sport.

02:45But we're completely missing the most important ingredient, which is, do you love it?

02:49McMenemy uses a football analogy to describe his fundraising progress,

02:54saying his team is on their own 10 or 15-yard line in terms of raising the full $120 million.

03:01But the CUNA City Council has approved commercial zoning for the land, which has already raised its value.

03:07He needs that one donor to write a check that will get a shovel into the ground.

03:11I think a large corporate sponsor coming in to say, we're behind this.

03:15We see this vision. We love youth sports and we love this area.

03:19Somebody who's willing to come behind it and say, we want to put our name on a building

03:22and stand behind the legacy of what this will create.

03:26I think we'll invite other sponsors and other donors to say, okay, that water's safe. Let's do it.

03:34McMenemy also needs the CUNA City Council to approve the official construction plan.

03:39They could vote on that sometime in the fall of 2026.

03:43For Straight Arrow News, I'm Chris Francis.

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