$22 million sports complex expected to bring soccer tournaments, business boom to Richland County

RICHLAND COUNTY, Ohio — Richland County and the city of Mansfield are known for its reformatory and the role it played in making the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.”

The Mansfield Reformatory alone brings in 100,000 to 120,000 visitors a year. Officials want the county to be known as a destination for soccer tournaments across the country.

The YMCA North Central Ohio Chapter, along with several
public-private partnerships, is about to begin turning 35 acres of an old potato farm into a new $22 million indoor-outdoor sports complex. Pickleball, basketball and a slew of other sports would be played there, but they are gearing it more toward soccer tournaments.

“I’ve had several county residents say, you know, I have to go to Gary, Indiana, I have to go to this place. And they travel long distances because there’s nothing around here to do that,” said Richland County Commissioner Cliff Mears.

The new sports complex will be built near I-71 and Route 97, just outside of Mansfield.

“It’s designed to have teams from outside the state and inside the state have their tournaments here, which is something we don’t currently have,” Mears said.

Mears estimates the complex and the tournaments could draw an additional eight million visitors to the county.

“So beyond the tournaments that will be here, it’s going to draw kids regularly to come up here and train,” said Lee Tassef, who is the president of Destination Mansfield. “So the activity it’s going to bring is almost going to be year-round and nonstop.”

So far, the YMCA of North Central Ohio has raised $9 million for its campaign of $22 million.

“It’s bigger than just a community, it’s really for our state and surrounding areas,” said Cristen Gilbert, the CEO of the YMCA of North Central Ohio.

Officials told News 5 that as they host more tournaments, they will start to see hotels in the area, and that could impact hotels and Airbnbs as far away as Cleveland.

Richland County Administrator Andrew Keller told News 5 that while the county can’t directly fund the project, they will invest $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to upgrade and accommodate the increased use of the sanitary sewer that the new complex will bring.

Gilbert says local businesses will also be impacted as they can expect to see more customers in their restaurants and shops.

“It brings money to our economy and our county, but it helps us save a little bit too with travel, hotel, stay, gas. So it is. It’s exciting thought.”

So it’s, you know, in a selfish aspect, we’re keeping our having a place for local residents so they don’t have to travel so far for the kids tournaments,

If everything goes according to plan, they hope to open the sports complex by June next year.