Idaho dad has $120 million vision to change the youth sports facilities game
Calling David McMenomey’s vision for a youth sports facility in Idaho “ambitious” hardly does it justice. The Little League coach and father of two has no experience turning a $120 million dream into reality, but if he pulls it off, it could change the way communities experience youth sports.
Why is the Kuna Sports Complex unique?
The project is centered on 14 artificial turf multi-use fields for baseball, softball, lacrosse, football and soccer. It will have eight indoor courts for basketball and volleyball. There will be tennis and pickleball courts, plus a 5,000-seat stadium, hotels, restaurants and a family entertainment center. Oh, and a massive RV parking lot. All on 114 acres in Kuna, Idaho, about a 25-minute drive from Boise.
The vast majority of youth sports mega-parks are public-private partnerships, with millions in backing from local and state governments and millions more from commercial developers. The city of Kuna, Idaho, donated 20 of the 114 acres proposed for McMenomey’s project — but that’s it. Everything else is expected to come from corporate and private donations, along with potential naming-rights agreements, an arrangement that could make the project a long shot.
“It’s going to have to be a unique set of donors who step up and say, ‘Let’s do something different,’” McMenomey said. “All right, this is totally a ‘Rudy’ story. I’m just like the least likely, most unassuming person to do this job. So, yes, it’s very unique.”
The entire annual budget of Ada County is around $300 million, so asking officials to back loans or contribute money wasn’t an option. McMenomey, who runs the nonprofit True Gritt Sports, told Straight Arrow News that his project on the sports side alone will cost close to $100 million.
“There are some larger companies here,” McMenomey said. “Albertsons is headquartered here. I think it’s one of those chicken-and-egg things. Is this real? It’s what most people are asking. It’s very ambitious and we’ve kind of done things backwards.”
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According to the Sports Events & Tourism Association, in 2023 sports-related travel in the U.S, including youth, adult amateur and collegiate, generated over $52 billion in direct spending.
What will the sports complex be used for?
McMenomey’s vision is two-fold. He wants to build a high-end complex to attract regional and national tournaments to the area — a one-stop shop that caters to elite youth leagues, athletes and their families who travel around the country to compete. That youth sports tourism draw should attract close to 3 million people a year to the area, which is a selling point for corporate sponsors who want those impressions.
“You’re going to bring money into the local economy,” McMenomey said. “And that’s exactly what will happen in our region. There is nothing like it in the Northwest. So we are planning to build hotels and have restaurants so families can enjoy themselves.”
Mega-youth sports facilities, like the Foley Sports Complex in Alabama, the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota, or the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio, host dozens of major youth events every year, generating millions for the local economy.
Counter to that big money draw, McMenomey wants to use part of the Kuna complex as a daily community center of sorts, busing kids in for a couple of hours each day after school so they can play pick-up games with volunteer officials and learn from coaches for free. Most sports complexes, no matter their size, generate income by renting out fields and facilities for an hourly or daily fee, costing leagues and families hundreds of dollars per event.
“Grab a penny jersey, there’s volunteer umpires and referees and dads and moms to help coach and just be there to help kids fall in love with sports again,” McMenomey said. “I think we’ve over-monetized sports for these kids who are 7, 8 years old going to pitching lessons and lifting and doing all the stuff to try to get them ahead in their sport, but we’re completely missing the most important ingredient, which is, do you love it?”
Where does the project stand now?
McMenomey declined to say how much money he has raised for the project. However, using a football analogy, he said his team is on its own 10- or 15-yard line toward the goal of $120 million.
“We did have a generous donor step up and say, ‘Let’s brainstorm helping you buy the land and hold it for you,’” he said.
The Kuna City Council has approved commercial zoning for the land, which has already raised its value. The next step is the approval of the official construction plan, which the city council could vote on sometime in the fall of 2026. Meanwhile, McMenomey is searching for that one donor to write a check that will get a shovel into the ground.
“A large corporate sponsor coming in to say, ‘We’re behind this,’” McMenomey said. “‘We see this vision. We love youth sports, and we love this area.’ I think that will invite other sponsors and other donors to say, ‘Okay, that water’s safe. Let’s do it.’”
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