Indianapolis World Sports Park
| Indianapolis World Sports Park | |
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Athletic field at World Sports Park
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 Location in Indianapolis
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| Type | City Park |
| Location | 1313 South Post Road Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Coordinates | 39°45′08″N 86°00′14″W / 39.7521°N 86.004°WCoordinates: 39°45′08″N 86°00′14″W / 39.7521°N 86.004°W |
| Area | 46 acres (19 ha) |
| Created | 2014 |
| Operated by | Indy Parks and Recreation |
| Open | All year |
| Website | Official website |
Indianapolis World Sports Park is an American sporting complex located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The site covers 46 acres (19 ha) at the former Post Road Community Park and consists of three multi-use fields for the sports of cricket, lacrosse, hurling, rugby, Australian rules football, and Gaelic football. The $5.1 million facility was completed in 2014.
Announced in 2013 as an initiative of Mayor Greg Ballard, the facility was slated to host the U.S. cricket men's national championship in August 2014 as its inaugural event, but city officials canceled their three-year hosting contract with the national cricketing group in May of that year, citing "deteriorated" communication about sponsorships, publicity, and other event planning details. The city said the breakdown between the groups began after U.S. cricket director Darren Beazley stepped down in March.
Despite losing the national cricket tournament, city officials completed the project, scaling back the number of fields from five to three and eliminating plans for a concession pavilion, maintenance building and additional parking, which helped the project come in about $1 million under budget. With the changes, one of the three fields was not built to "international standards for professional play", according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. At the complex's first major cricket tournament, only one field was approved for international play, as it had a natural-turf oval; the secondary field is synthetic. Unlike larger U.S. facilities such as Central Broward Regional Park, the facility lacks floodlights, a pavilion, a clubhouse or changing rooms for players, a media area, concession stands, and bleachers for fans.
The project was controversial in Indianapolis. The facility's funding came from the city's "RebuildIndy" initiative, which was created to fund infrastructure improvements. Indianapolis City-County Council members criticized the mayor and the project, saying the money would be better spent on roads, sidewalks, and curbs. Also, the project was seen as an extravagant expense for a city which at the time was facing a $40 million budget deficit and a crime wave with an understaffed police department.
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