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State money goes to new turf fields, pickleball facility, Dover Speedway

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State money goes to new turf fields, pickleball facility, Dover Speedway

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As part of its increasing efforts to boost tourism through sporting events, Delaware is giving a combined $10 million to five sports facilities across the state.

The facilities will make improvements to their existing fields and courts and build new structures with the aim of drawing out-of-state visitors who will spend at hotels and local businesses.

  • Kirkwood Sports, which hosts youth tournaments at its 15-field facility near New Castle, will receive $4 million for parking upgrades and expansion, the installation of artificial turf on five fields and lighting for those fields.
  • Bethany Tennis Club will build a structure for multiple indoor courts for tennis and pickleball at its Ocean View facility with a $3.8 million award.
  • Hudson Fields in Milton will receive $1.12 million to upgrade its nine outdoor playing fields, install two turf soccer fields and improve seven existing grass fields.
  • Factory Sports, a multisport facility off Route 113 in Frankford that opened in May, will build two additional basketball courts, two volleyball courts and six pickleball courts with a $577,000 award.
  • Dover Motor Speedway will receive $500,000 for several upgrades, including new paving, an infield media center update and an improved audio system.

A state panel picked the projects from a pool of 17 applicants at a Dec. 12 meeting. That meeting marked the second time the state has awarded money from the Sports Tourism Capital Investment Fund, which was established by the 2023 bond bill, the legislation that assigns single-year spending.

In June, the panel gave a combined $11.3 million to a planned multisport facility with an indoor track next to Wilmington’s Chase Fieldhouse, a pickleball complex in Rehoboth Beach, DE Turf near Frederica and a baseball and softball facility in Red Lion.

Denied projects include construction of an aquatics facility in Dover proposed by First State Masters Swim Team; improvements at Georgetown’s Sports At The Beach; additional courts and improvements at Midway Pickleball in Milton; construction of an ice hockey arena in Dover; an eight-lane track and turf-field facility at Sussex Academy in Georgetown; upgrades at the University of Delaware’s field hockey facility, Rullo Stadium; construction of a multi-sport field at Goldey-Beacom College; a new clubhouse and courts at Dave Marshall Tennis and Pickleball in Lewes; improvements at Hockessin’s NBN Sports Academy; a track resurfacing and parking lot pavement project at Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington; parking improvements at River Soccer Club in Frankford and lighting for two fields at Georgetown’s Sandhill Fields.

Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.

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