Renovations are underway and the former baseball complex on Harlan Lewis Road will soon be open for business again. Now known as The Premier Sports Village, new owners Brandon Schuur and Sean Johnston said it’s a dream they’ve had for a long time. They will be hosting a public “Open Park” next week on Thursday, Nov 5th from 3pm-5pm with food, games, and conversation about the vision for the complex. All members of the community are invited!
Brandon runs a sports apparel company called A&B Activewear with his wife Arianna. He has also run USSSA softball tournaments in Grand Island, Beatrice, Seward, York, Columbus, and Fremont during the spring and summer seasons.
Sean first started as an educator in Millard Public schools, then created Premier Sports Officials Association to recruit, train, educate and advance sports officials. He currently officiates college and high school football, basketball, and baseball and supervises college football and baseball umpires. We reached out to Brandon and Sean to find out more about the project.
How did things get started for them?
The dream started for Sean as a teenager in Illinois working at a sports complex. He knew he always wanted to own and run one. The year the tornado hit the village he had 12 umpires working games. Brandon stopped by the village about a month ago so we could see the condition of the fields. We then talked to a land investor and two sports consultants weighing the good, the bad and risk management. When working with the city and putting all information together the time, location, and price all matched up!
What drew them to Bellevue?
Sean’s wife works at Bellevue Medical Center, his sister-in-law lives in Bellevue, and he knows many sports officials that work or have worked at Offutt. Sean also mentioned he has many relationships in the Bellevue baseball community and Bellevue needs another location to play youth sports. They both love the city, the location, and the people they’ve already met. Both Sean & Brandon are looking forward to being a part of the community and its future growth.
What prep work has to be completed to get the complex up and running?
They are currently cleaning up all weeds from the warning tracks, playing fields, and common grounds. They mentioned the need to replace and fix electrical to the fields, lights, parking lots and walkways. We are now checking the irrigation system from pumps, pipes, sprinkler heads. We are assuming all heads, rotors, valves, and electronic systems need to be fixed. We will be adding scoreboards to all fields and replacing the broken dugout lids and fencing.
When is Opening Day?
As mentioned above, they are going to have an Open Park next week on Thursday, November 5th to show the public the grounds and their vision. They will be open for rental Monday, March 1st 2021!
How will the complex operate differently from the previous owners?
Both Brandon and Sean wanted to emphasize that Premier Sports Village will not be a ‘Play and Stay’ setup – rather the complex will be 100% a rental facility and not associated with any one team. They plan to build great, high-quality events in Bellevue which is a huge need for the youth sports community. Oct 26, 2020 3
What is their vision for the complex?
Where do they see Premier Sports Village 5-10 years from now? Their vision is to grow on what they have… extend three fields out to 225 fences, build two or three high school or college level size fields, build another two quads for softball and 12U-11U baseball. Then build an all-around indoor athletic facility to help develop all aspects of student athletes. Down the road we see The Premier Sports Complex hosting regional and national events for baseball, softball, soccer, flag football and in the beginning stages of building the Premier Sports Academy that will include a natatorium and multipurpose indoor athletic atrium.
We also reached out to Bellevue mayor Rusty Hike and City Administrator Jim Ristow and here is what they had to say:
Mayor Rusty Hike: This is truly a case of Bellevue being open for business and receptive of everyone’s ideas and working with them. One of the gentlemen approached Jim with the idea and Jim and Mark (Elbert) are helping turn it into reality. Brandon and Sean are leasing for 18 months at $5,000 per month with an option to purchase by the 18th month for a price of $650,000. If they purchase the $5,000 per month they paid and will be credited to the purchase price. They are responsible to bring all utilities up to code which is estimated to be around $200,000. They are also planning on building a 10,000 square-foot building to provide gymnastics classes in, have bathrooms, and some concessions and possibly some retail. They also have an option to purchase the remaining 62 acres the city owns to the west at market value. This would be to add additional fields which potentially could be bigger baseball fields, football fields, softball fields, etc. The city is not a partner in this venture so their business plan is their own. They are all from the metro area and have many connections and experience with local sports. I am really confident that they will be great managers and utilize the fields Spring through Fall.
City Administrator Jim Ristow: We’re pretty excited with this deal as we pay off our debt on the 25 acres with the goal to clear the 62 acres next. They have plans for retail business in this complex which will generate city sales tax along with property tax on the land and buildings. This project was a vision by the administration from the beginning. For More information on The Premier Sports Village Call: (402) 319-8413 eMail: premiersportsvillagene@gmail.com Website: https://premier-sports-village.squarespace.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/premiersportsvillage
