City officials are working to match the continued growth of the local youth sports community through the addition of new athletic fields and expansion projects at existing public facilities. The projects total $80 million.
McKinney’s youth athletes can also be found at private facilities in the city, such as Areté Athletics. The facility, which nearly doubled in size through an expansion project in 2024, serves over 1,000 athletes that play volleyball and basketball.
Despite the projects underway, Kinkade said the city is limited in how many facilities can be constructed to accommodate the need.
"We're kind of landlocked as far as space. ... We're trying to catch up with where we're headed down the road, but we're just not there yet,” Kinkade said of the growing need for athletic fields.
The situation
Projects to renovate existing facilities and add new athletic fields are underway at city parks.
The McKinney Soccer Complex at Craig Ranch is under construction, and the two-phase project will see 10 of the complex’s 13 fields converted to synthetic turf. The second phase of the project is expected to be completed in spring 2026.
“It’s going to be, once it’s completed, one of the best complexes in DFW,” Kinkade said.
City officials are also adding four new softball fields at Gabe Nesbitt Community Park, and other upgrades at Al Ruschhaupt Soccer Complex and Grady Littlejohn Softball and Baseball Complex.
According to city documents, at McKinney's public parks and recreations facilities, there are:
- 11 baseball fields
- 11 softball fields
- 23 basketball courts
- 21 soccer fields
- 28 tennis courts
- 13 pickleball courts
“The Parks and Recreation Department is dedicated to creating a solid sense of community for McKinney residents,” Kinkade said in an email. “By expanding our athletic facilities, we can offer more programs for the fast-growing community.”
Kinkade said the department is considering creating a policy with different tiers that would prioritize use by recognized users and for tournaments, but that would also allow use by residents. Surrounding cities, including Allen, Frisco, Plano and Prosper, offer opportunities for residents to rent city athletic facilities. A policy change proposal is expected to be presented to McKinney City Council later this year.
Redline Athletics, a business that provides foundational preparation and training for youth athletes in a variety of sports, also offers a select youth baseball program in McKinney. Redline Athletics Owner Jesen Merle said the city has an opportunity to support and retain existing youth sports teams by allowing field rentals.
“McKinney would be doing a good thing by opening up those facilities to competitive organizations,” Merle said, noting the economic benefits such as collection of rental fees for fields.
Visit McKinney Director Aaron Werner said the city also reaps the benefits of tourism and associated spending at hotels, restaurants and local businesses from visitors coming to McKinney for sporting events.
What the experts say
Dr. Troy Smurawa, director of Pediatric Sports Medicine at Children’s Health Andrews Institute, said participation in youth sports can benefit children both physically and mentally.
Some physical health benefits of youth sports include:
- Improved cardiovascular health
- Development of motor skills
- Improved muscular fitness
- Decreased risk of becoming overweight or obese, and comorbidities such as diabetes
“Sports provides taking care of the entire body: the physical, the mental, the emotional," Williams said.
Some mental health benefits of youth sports include:
- Develops goal orientation
- Gives children a sense of belonging
- Teaches leadership and coachability
- Creates a chance to face and overcome adversity
The impact
While city officials look to continue growing McKinney’s athletic facility inventory, local leagues are adapting to increasing demand.
Since the pandemic, the McKinney Soccer Association has doubled in size, MSA President Laurie Nichols said. The association hosts a mix of recreational and competitive soccer leagues for kids separated by age groups. Nichols said she’s expecting the association’s enrollment to continue growing, along with the need for playing fields.
In 2024, the McKinney Baseball and Softball Association had nearly 1,000 more children than in 2023, MBSA Commissioner Patrick Capel estimated. Capel said he doesn’t see a reason why that growth would stop in 2025. The association’s biggest pain point currently is finding more fields to support its players, Capel said.
“We’re always keen for seeing when new initiatives are coming to the city, where the fields are going to be built,” he said.
“We've seen a tremendous boom in this community,” Hanlin said.
As a result, the facility has expanded its youth programming, adding a high performance academy-style pickleball program as well as a tennis academy for youth athletes that are homeschooled. The facility sees over 150 youth athletes daily, Hanlin said, noting that the facility has produced internationally ranked tennis players.
Diving in deeper
Club volleyball is a popular sport in North Texas, particularly for children between 10-18 years old, Areté Athletics Partner Lance Black said. When the competitive volleyball organization was founded, Black’s role was to find a facility.
“When you’re talking about youth sports, there’s a lack of facilities in this area, and it’s true for volleyball as well,” Black said
When the 70,000-square-foot building in East McKinney opened in 2016, it had five volleyball courts, a basketball court and a weightlifting area. Several years later, the private athletic facility underwent an expansion project that added 50,000 square feet in order to meet growing demand, Black said.
“When we started out 10 years ago, we had 90 athletes,” he said. “Today, we have over 1,000.”
The expansion opened in August, adding six more volleyball courts and another basketball court. In addition to expanding the center’s space for volleyball, the new space allows the center to host new events, such as a wrestling tournament and a basketball tournament, Black said.
The center has seen as many 2,000 people coming to an event, Black said.
“They’re coming from West Texas, East Texas, South Texas, Oklahoma, and that means that they’re renting hotel rooms and they’re purchasing from our restaurants,” he said. “It’s a great benefit for the city of McKinney.”
Jami Scoggins, mother of competitive volleyball player Brooklyn Horton, said she chose Areté Athletics because of the quality of the athletic program and coaching staff. The duo travels over 50 miles to reach the center, and Scoggins said her daughter has developed mentally and physically since she began attending the facility.
“The atmosphere here is just good for my kid, it’s making her be a better person,” Scoggins said, noting that her daughter has also seen improvements in her athletic ability.
As the Areté Athletics center gets ready to celebrate its 10th anniversary in May, the founders and staff are considering ideas for expansion that meet the community’s needs, Black said.
“As an entrepreneur, I want to be able to support the community, not just volleyball,” he said.
What else?
Werner said the city has a significant draw for visitors attending youth sporting events, as well as semi-professional and collegiate events like the NCAA Division II football championship held at McKinney ISD Stadium.
In 2024 and early 2025, the city has seen more than 7,000 room nights booked by travelers coming to McKinney for sports, Werner said, noting that the count only recognizes travelers that collaborated with the tourism office for their visit and that the actual count is likely higher.
Looking ahead
While city officials make progress on existing projects, Kinkade and her team are also considering opportunities to bring additional sports fields to undeveloped parkland, implement additional practice space and create more multi-use facilities.
Werner said the city’s investment in public sports facilities and existing local private facilities has pushed the tourism-focused organization to concentrate on attracting more sporting events.
“Frisco, they have their piece of the pie, and they’re gonna win that big stuff all day, every day, because they have the right facilities for it,” Werner said of professional sporting events locating in Frisco. “We, at a different level, have the right facilities for all of the types of events we're recruiting. When it comes to tennis and youth soccer, ... we’ll continue to be one of the top destinations for a long time.”
