On September 19, 2024, state, regional, and local leaders announced a plan to build a new sports complex near Fair Oaks Farms, in Newton County, called Marvella. The sports complex will be the first in the nation dedicated to empowering womens sports and leadership roles in the community. The new complex is expected to create over 1,000 new jobs and fuel economic growth across all of Northwest Indiana.
The Sports complex will be funded by an organization created by Governor Eric J. Holcomb called the READI 2.0 program. The governor believes that it is important to recognize women with talent and believes this sports complex will have a big impact on the young women in Indiana as stated, “Right now, Indiana is riding a wave of momentum in women’s sports,” said Gov. Holcomb. “It’s important we don’t take our foot off the gas and that we continue to tap into our state’s strength in sports. This is a project to keep your eyes on, and I’m certainly excited to see the impact of this facility on our communities and future leaders, our state and our leading sports ecosystem.”
Establishing the complex by an already popular tourist attraction will bring in even more people. The complex plans on fueling the sports economy by bringing in many different people, especially younger women. At the complex they will teach leadership, character development, mental health and wellness, along with a fitness and nutrition program. The complex also plans on having a lot of tournaments there, as they have already been recognized by many different organizations such as the Indiana Sports Corp., Amonte Sports, Indiana Girls Basketball, National Federation of State High School Associations, and USA Rugby. These different organizations are looking to host tournaments there, and also possibly having a partnership with the complex, which shows the possible future and success of Marvella.
The construction of the sports complex is expected to start some time this fall, and is estimated to finish in the spring of 2026. Even though this seems like a long time it will probably go by very quickly, and is definitely something you should keep in mind. Once the initial construction of the complex is completed they plan to add more onto the sports complex to keep it growing.
All in all this is very exciting for all the residents of Indiana, and shows the possible future of women’s sports. This sports complex will bring well deserved attention to the many talented and athletic women in our communities.