Ruston breaks ground with Sports Complex Phase Two

RUSTON, La. (KNOE) -The city of Ruston broke ground Monday morning with an update on phase two of the sports complex project.

The city completed phase one in July 2019. It features 36 outdoor fields for softball, baseball, and tennis. Phase two will focus on an indoor facility.

It includes basketball and volleyball courts, bathrooms, and office space. A restaurant and hotel sales tax helped pay for phase two. Mayor Ronny Walker said phase two will continue to move the city forward.

“From the first I said, we advertise ourselves as the ‘Sports Capital of the South,’ and we really believe that because now when this facility is open, we will be able to host every kind of tournament that we’ve been wanting to have here in the city. We’re very excited about it,” said Walker.

Walker said this project will not only attract business to Ruston, but to all of North Louisiana.

He said before this project began, the city was using the Bobby James Memorial gym for basketball games. The Lincoln Parish public schools own the gym.

The new facility will allow up to twelve different teams to play on six courts. Mayor Walker said the complex will help the economy of all of North Louisiana.

“It’s a tremendous help because all of these teams coming in will be, most of them will be spending nights in our hotels, they’ll be eating in our restaurants, they’ll be shopping at our shops, they’ll be buying gas at gas stations,” he said.

It will take 15 months to finish phase two. Walker said it is expected to open by fall 2021.

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