As you turn left off of Cedarcrest onto Cobb Parkway North for about 5-7 miles, you will quickly arrive at the intersection of Highway 293. If you look immediately to your right, you will see the construction activity that will shortly begin to take shape as Lake Point Sporting Community, the largest and most comprehensive sports vacation destination in the world. The unique complex will comprise more than 1,200 acres featuring state-of-the-art sports venues for 27 of America’s favorite sports, and 5 million square feet of mixed-use development. On July 23rd, the Emerson City Council approved the Lake Point south campus plans which will soon expand area construction.
After three years of planning, Lake Point started the construction process in April of this year. The economic impact, upon completion, is expected to bring more than 4 million visitors a year and create more than 26,000 jobs. The South campus will be the first phase to be completed, with its first venue Terminus Wake Park scheduled to open later this year, followed by baseball and soccer/lacrosse venues in 2014 along with some of the retail venues including Bass Pro Shops in late 2014, early 2015.
Comprised of seven “districts”, the complex will offer 5 million square feet of mixed-use commercial development, including extensive retail, hotel, office, entertainment and medical components. A brief breakdown of the information from their website includes*:
- District 1 – Medical Village offering medical treatment facilities, medical conference center, retail, quick serve restaurants
- District 2 – Celebrating Baseball, this District will house Boom Town, Pennant Point and Diamond Walk, 8 Major League-sized baseball fields, including a 1728-seat stadium (with additional berm seating), 12 softball/youth baseball fields and a Miracle League field. The anchor tenant for Lake Point baseball is Perfect Game USA, baseball’s largest and most comprehensive scouting service. A water park is also planned for the Northeast area of District 2, adjacent to I-75.
- District 3 – Lacrosse & Soccer will be the highlight of District 3 which will include 14 multi-use fields, including a 2700-seat stadium, as well as a major strip of on-site hotels.
- District 4 – Terminus Water Park will highlight District 4 at its entrance, but continuing through the District, visitors will be offered track & field, 10 basketball-size/20 volleyball-size courts for basketball, volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, and elite sports performance training. At the south end of District 4 there will be 8 more Major League-sized baseball fields and 3 multi-sport lacrosse/soccer fields for Perfect Game USA and others.
- District 5 – Adventure Ridge, as this District will be known, will be home to Bass Pro Shop as well as a massive ropes course and adventure zip line and 300 acres of green space with running, mountain biking and equestrian trails.
- District 6 – Golf Academy and a 9 hole, Par 3 Golf Course will be joined with cabins and golf villas available to rent.
- District 7 – Lake Point Landing incorporates the lake lifestyle known in the area and will feature a resort-style hotel and marina where guests can rent kayaks, pontoon boats and jet skis.
* UPDATE – Districts were the original plan and as LakePoint Sports has developed, the plans have been updated for this destination resort as can be seen on their website.
Original information was found at lakepointsports.com/the-venue/district7