Playing in the Big League: Sports Lifestyle Community

MJA Consulting's Parks, Recreation and Tourism team traditionally spend their time on golf course marketing studies, ecotourism/environmental education centers, and designing playgrounds/recreation amenities for gated communities. This spring MJA Consulting was challenged to create a feasibility study and master plan for a “lifestyle community” based around a baseball facility, for a minor league baseball team. This gated community would house training facilities for players, officials, and coaching staff, as well as and condominiums for players, owners and select fans.

The client (who wishes to remain anonymous) wanted a premier private community with facilities that would serve multiple purposes for the community throughout the year; the team staff needed a first class training facility. The team owners wanted a state of the art venue that attracts investors to finance the team, build a strong sports academy to attract students for leadership, coaching and officiating in the off seasons, and facilitate player recruitment and training. Some of the objectives were different but not incompatible.

MJA's team needed to design a family friendly environment that could accommodate the players and their families and meet the meet the needs of the baseball organization

The MJA Game Plan

The MJA Consultants embarked on a design process to ensure that the stakeholders were given the opportunity to provide input throughout the design process. The Consultants defined all user groups as well as their needs and desires up front using VAMP, a high level park-planning program. This tool helped stakeholders prioritize and select the ideal amenities for each user group.

The Master Plan

This master planned gated community includes 60 condominiums. The perimeter of the development is defined by a running track with exercise stations inside a landscaped and bermed security fence.

The training facility includes a major league baseball field and two smaller training fields. These fields include multiple gathering places where families could congregate and watch the Players train without interfering with the Players. Attached to the main field is clubhouse with lounge and training facility and flexible suites with moveable walls to allow for groups from four to fifty. Field amenities include flexible food concession area and permanent party tent providing for family picnickers and corporate gatherings beyond the centerfield area.

A field house houses contains separate offices, classrooms, conference rooms, equipment storage facilities and laundry facilities.

MJA staff used satellite imagery, aerial photos and the Geographic Information Systems to identify several potential sites for this project and is currently awaiting the client's final decision. Stay tuned for further developments in this exciting project.