By Pat Culverhouse

Minden’s $10 million recreation complex enhancement project will be an economic engine that will help the city become a major player in the multi-million dollar sports tourism industry.

Zach Harrison, the enhancement project coordinator for the city, told members of the Minden Lions Club that the project is building on the vision of those who completed the complex in the early 2000s.

“The people before us had a vision, to make it a forefront for everything athletic,” Harrison said. “Our mayor and council see this project as an engine that will add business, industry and tax dollars to our community.”

Minden’s new complex will also be what Harrison calls a branding tool for the city.

“We want Minden to stand out not only along the Interstate 20 corridor but across the state and the nation,” he said.

Minden’s recreation complex already enjoys an impressive status among other facilities, Harrison said. With 16 baseball and softball fields plus multipurpose fields, the complex ranks number four within a 400-mile radius for the amount of fields available for use.

Updating the fields with a unique turf that provides a cooler surface isn’t the only upgrade at the fields. A  remote-controlled LED lighting system is being installed and WiFi services will be available throughout the complex. Also, individuals who may not be able to attend games will be able to access the action on the complex YouTube channel.

Other features at the new complex include what Harrison called “…a gi-normous playground, maybe the best in Louisiana…” that reaches a height of 35 feet. Improvements also include new surfaces for basketball and tennis courts.

Harrison said as soon as the project was published, his cell phone “…has been blowing up with inquiries about what we have.”

For that reason, Harrison said, the city has contracted with AirstreamVentures, LLC, a Jacksonville, FL-based event management company.

“They will help us bring in outside events and that will include other things than baseball, softball, football or soccer,” he said. “We want to bring in anything and everything that will benefit our community.”

Harrison said sports tourism is recognized as a major economic influence in the state.

“I recently went to the Louisiana Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and sports tourism was a major topic,” he said. “It’s a multi-million dollar industry in the state. We want to be a major player in this industry and the new complex will position us to do so.”

Harrison said the project could be completed by the end of summer or early fall of this year.