OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The heavy equipment is on-site and work crews have been moving dirt preparing for phase one of the new Valley Sports Complex.

The Elkhorn Athletic Association is making progress. Land outside of Valley along Highway 275 is being graded, and soon, athletic fields will spring up.

“We’re hoping to have six soccer fields up by the fall of this year, and then a quad of baseball/softball fields that will be prepared for the spring of 2024,” said executive director Bruce O’Neel. “We’ve had really good luck with the weather so far holding off on rain so we can get some work done.”

Future phases of development will include multi-purpose fields and more than a half-dozen additional baseball/softball fields, walking trails, and playground areas.

O’Neel says they are also working with a developer to purchase land around the sports complex.

“We’re really looking at this as a community, and part of that community is live, work and shop, having some commercial developments in the area, having some living places in the area, both multi-family and single-family,” he said.

“There’s 260 acres there in total, and of the 260 acres, we only need a total of 120 for the sports complex,” he said.

That leaves 140 acres for homes, hotels and businesses — all of which could be a big economic boost for nearby Valley. Wendy Deane owns a number of businesses downtown and hopes the sports complex will bring new traffic to the downtown streets.

“The influx of people in between ball games, people have time,” Deane said. “We’re close by, so it’s like go into town and do a little shopping, or have a little something to eat.”

Wendy and other business owners in the area are hoping the new complex attracts more people to Valley’s downtown, while organizers of the complex are just trying to keep our kids at home.

“We need more of these places,” O’Neel said. “All of our kids are going to Des Moines, to Tulsa, to Kansas City, they’re going to Sioux Falls, South Dakota — they’re going to other places to play. Our mission is really about doing this for the kids in the community, so this will be a regional destination based on what we can do for our kids in this area and expanding that to the region.”

Organizers hope to have the project completed within seven to 10 years. Play could begin on some of the fields sometime next year. Phase One is estimated to cost $23 million.

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