Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Let the games begin — especially for local youth.

The ribbon was cut Tuesday on the new Scheels Sports Park, although developers say a little more work has to be complete, especially on the outdoor portion of the facilities there.

High school and college athletes are already playing there, and that’s music to long-standing travel ball moms, like Springfield Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Gill.

“I spent most of my life raising my two children, who are athletes, going to other communities — enjoying their restaurants, staying in their hotels,” said Gill.  “I always wished maybe if I could have just one weekend at home.  Now, I think that reality will be almost every weekend at home.  I think that’s great for the Springfield families, but also it showcases what we have to offer here in Springfield.

Gill says she thinks Scheel’s Sports Park will allow District 186 to create a stronger bench of both current and future student athletes.

Scheels Sports Park was called by some of those in attendance “the best youth sports destination” in Illinois between the outdoor facilities, and the Springfield Clinic Dome, which has already been well used the last several months.

That dome might have created, or retained, at least one job in the city already.  As she was being recruited for her job before taking over in March, new Springfield Clinic CEO Rebecca Birenbaum said she came into Springfield the first time from the south, saw the dome, wondered what it was, and quickly learned it was an athletic facility that the clinic contributed to, and had its name put on.

“This is when I knew that Springfield was thinking bigger than anybody gave it credit for, and it was part of the reason I accepted this position,” said Birenbaum, who admits that there isn’t anything like the park anywhere she lived in the Pacific Northwest.  “They don’t have anything like this — not this scale, not the partnerships, not the ambition.  Illinois is doing something genuinely special, and Springfield is at the heart of it.”

The “genuinely special” park has been years in the making, between development, donations, City Council approval, and additional financing.  That’s something Mayor Misty Buscher made note of, being a former banker.

“Several banks in our community had to come together to make the financing happen, because it’s such a large project.  We have small community banks,” said Buscher.  “Thank you for being partners in the Springfield community and in our banking.”

Work is still being done to complete some of the outdoor facilities and ball fields in the park, but most of it is now officially in use.

Buscher says an estimated $25 million in new spending annually will come to Springfield because of Scheels Sports Park. Tens of thousands of new visitors annually are also estimated.