CenTex Sports will offer field rentals, tutoring and other programming at the planned sports complex. (Courtesy Sixthriver Architects)
Soccer fields, basketball courts and batting cages are among the amenities residents can expect from a planned 40-acre sports complex.
CenTex Sports, the developer of the planned Game Changers Field of Dreams project, is currently working toward a Chapter 380 agreement with the city of Leander. Through this agreement, the city can provide economic incentives to promote the project’s development.
While news of the planned sports complex broke in September, the idea was first pitched to the city of Leander over a year ago, Veronica Romero, co-CEO of the project, said.
About the project
The 150,000-square-foot project is split across two phases. Romero said she expects a soft opening in early 2029 for the project's first phase, which will include:
Two soccer fields, including a covered field and a track for one of the fields
10 basketball courts that can be converted to 20 volleyball courts
Four beach volleyball courts
Batting cages
The second phase will add at least four baseball or softball fields and a third soccer field. Under the agreement with the city, construction must begin by the end of 2029.
One of the two soccer fields will feature a covered track. (Courtesy CenTex Sports)
Beyond sports facilities, the business plans to have several retail units, including:
A childcare and preschool facility
A restaurant and cafe
A retail shop offering sports equipment
A wellness and performance center
An arcade and party room
A development center offering tutoring, nonprofit programming and mental health support
A 5,500-square-foot event space with a capacity of 200 that can be rented for private events
“Each unit operates independently, but the campus as a whole has the same mission to provide quality services to the families and convenience as a whole,” Romero said. “You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy the campus.”
The complex will offer a "menu" of programs youth can enroll in, such as homeschool enrichment or workforce development activities.
“We really are a sports, health and development concept,” Romero said. “Sports brings you in, but we hope that it becomes more of a lifestyle.”
The local impact
Romero said that once complete, the project is expected to see around 500,000 to 800,000 visitors annually through local, quarterly and national tournaments. She anticipated 700 jobs would be created during construction and up to 145 full-time jobs created once the complex is fully operational, with the potential for another 300 seasonal jobs.
“All the courts, fields and amenities will be available for rental,” Romero said. The business plans to offer a local nonprofit rate and discounts for employees.
Romero said the complex hopes to offer opportunities for youth to develop and compete while also bringing together different programs “under one ecosystem.”
The timeline
While Romero said the team was considering options in Cedar Park, North Austin and the Georgetown area, Leander’s demographics of young professionals with children “just made sense.” About 41.1% of Leander’s 29,616 households have at least one child under 18, according to 1-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
“The opportunity for growth in the area, the synergy with the city and just the overall need for this infrastructure just made it a no-brainer,” Romero said.
After pitching the project to the city of Leander a year ago, the CenTex team has worked closely with the city over the last eight months, Romero said. She said CenTex worked to accommodate the city's request for softball or baseball fields that residents can rent.
“We do have obviously a large portion of need for our own internal use on the sports side but after that, we are open and available for rentals through the community and nonprofits,” Romero said. “It's not just for internal use, it's for the community as well.”
On Sept. 17, the Leander City Council approved a letter of intent with CenTex, moving toward a Chapter 380 agreement. Such an agreement would include clawback provisions to protect the city financially, a Leander news release stated.
About the company
While CenTex Sports originally began as a flag football league, the company has expanded to add soccer and girls' athletic programming. The company is also looking to add basketball and volleyball to its portfolio over the next few years, Romero said.
The lack of athletic facilities in the area inspired CenTex founder Adrian Chapa, a Leander-area resident, to pursue a project that offers wider programming, Romero said.
The development team includes a civil engineer, architects, restaurant owners and experts from the entertainment field.
Quote of note
“It really met not just our needs, but the city's and gave us that opportunity to work closely in partnership with the city of Leander because they were lacking the infrastructure,” Romero said. “It just gave us all an opportunity to bring a concept that is unique to not just the area, but to sports, wellness, health and development within itself. We're doing more of a lifestyle destination where, yes, sports is how we offer so many different ways of development, but it's just that holistic environment that we bring for the families.”
