Apple Valley is shelling out millions to level up its youth sports facilities.
Once completed, the Hayes Youth Athletic Complex will boast four youth baseball and softball fields, covered dugouts, irrigated turf and lighting for evening games, said Eric Carlson, director of parks and recreation for Apple Valley.
The estimated $7.1 million project, to be located at 14603 Hayes Road, is made possible through a recent parks referendum.
“In 2023, voters approved a $73.25 million park bond referendum to upgrade the city’s park system,” said Tom Lawell, city administrator for Apple Valley, in an email.
The two-question voter-approved referendum asked residents to issue more than $73 million in bonds to fund improvements to the city’s parks, recreation facilities and trails.
The focal point of the athletic complex will be four baseball/softball fields in a wheel pattern near the Apple Valley Community Center. The wheel-shaped development will include batting cages, outfield fencing and lighting.
A rendering of the project also notes flexible field spaces to be used for soccer, football or lacrosse, additional storage and an expanded parking lot.
School district partnership
While the project is paid for by the city, it is a partnership with ISD 196, the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, which owns part of the land the complex is being built on, Carlson said.
The land provided by the district is part of the Westview Elementary School site, which is located at 225 Garden View Drive.
Once the project is completed, Westview students will have access to the new facilities for gym class and recess. High school sports teams for ISD 196 will use the facilities for softball, soccer, lacrosse and football, Carlson said.
Also using the new facilities will be Valley Athletic Association, a nonprofit organization that serves students of ISD 196 communities, and Eastview Athletic Association, which offers sports programs to families living within the Eastview High School enrollment boundaries as well as the city of Apple Valley.
A stone’s throw from the planned youth sports facilities sits the former Hayes Arena, now known as Wings Arena, Carlson said, following the signing of a naming rights agreement between Wings Credit Union and the city. “We are currently working with Wings on a logo and will be updating things soon,” Carlson said.
While the Hayes Youth Athletic Complex does not currently have a naming partner, Carlson said, “We are open to signing naming agreements on a number of city projects including the youth baseball/softball complex.”
The athletic complex is set to be seeded this spring and construction is expected to wrap up in early 2027 at the latest, Carlson said.
Other park projects
In addition to the Hayes Youth Athletic Complex, the 2023 parks referendum also funded updates made to the Splash Valley Water Park, the construction of a skate park and an inclusive playground.
Formerly known as the Apple Valley Family Aquatic Center, the Splash Valley Water Park received updates last summer including a renovated bathhouse and concessions area, and updated mechanical systems. It also added an area for lawn games and implemented solar panels and accessibility improvements.
Redwood Park in Apple Valley is also benefitting from the 2023 referendum with a $16 million construction project that began last summer.
A courtesy rendering of the newly imagined Redwood Park in Apple Valley, which will include an inclusive playground area, pickleball courts, a basketball court, as well as a new community pool and pool house with community meeting spaces, and other amenities. The park and pool will be fenced off for the entire year, with the goal of reopening in spring 2026. (Courtesy of Confluence and the City of Apple Valley)
Once completed, the renovated park will offer the city’s first inclusive playground, pickleball courts, basketball court, pool and pool house with community meeting spaces and other amenities.
Redwood Park’s swimming pool could open as early as June with the rest of the park tentatively scheduled to open in August, according to city documents.
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