Construction has begun on the next and most anticipated phase of the up-and-coming Bluhawk development in south Overland Park.
Catch up quick: On Wednesday morning, state and city officials celebrated the official groundbreaking on what is now formally dubbed AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk.
- The youth and amateur sports complex has been billed as the centerpiece of the much-watched development near 159th Street and U.S. 69 Highway.
The details: For the first phase of the $125 million sports arena, developer Price Brothers Management Co. plans to build 250,000 square feet of the indoor facility on the 277-acre development.
- That will include four basketball courts, eight volleyball courts, eight pickleball courts, an indoor turf field and indoor baseball training areas.
- The complex is also expected to offer fitness classes, sports medicine treatments, nutrition and physical therapy sessions.
- Eventually, a second phase would bring in a second ice rink and additional basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts.
Funding: In addition to private funding, Overland Park has been authorized to use up to $46.5 million in state-approved Sales Tax and Revenue, or STAR, bonds to fund the first phase of the sports arena.
- STAR bonds are a financing tool meant to help fund projects deemed to have a broader regional or even national commercial, entertainment or tourism value, but their use on other Johnson County projects has proven controversial.
Key quote: “The Bluhawk development project will greatly enhance the quality of life in Overland Park and the surrounding communities and will attract visitors, recreation-seekers, and sports enthusiasts from across the region to Kansas,” Gov. Laura Kelly said in a statement.
Timeline for AdventHealth Sports Park
Set to be built in two phases, construction of AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk will continue into next year, with plans for the facility to open sometime in 2024.
- The second phase of work on the arena would begin after the surrounding retail generates enough revenue to support a second series of STAR bonds, Overland Park deputy city manager Kristy stallings said at a previous Overland Park City Council meeting.
