City of Westfield looking at expanding Grand Park over 10 years

WESTFIELD — Grand Park is one of central Indiana's biggest sports assets and Westfield is looking to further cash in on that.

The facility is a prime tournament destination for people all around the country.

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"An eight-and-a-half-hour drive from Hudson, Wisconsin," said Chris Aune, who drove his son down for a baseball tournament this weekend.

Taking a shorter drive, Angie Powers drove her son from Peoria, Illinois.

"It's a lot, especially when you have an 8 a.m. game," said Powers.

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Grand Park will host 103 major events this year.

In 2023, Grand Park had 5.5 million visits with 1.3 million unique visitors. The city says about half of them drove more than 100 miles.

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Westfield is a sports destination, but families say it could use a little something extra.

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"Trying to find hotels is a challenge and more restaurants for sure," said Powers.

There are places to stay, eat and find entertainment but sometimes it takes people out of Westfield. That's why the city is working on a 10-year plan to create an entertainment district surrounding Grand Park.

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"Grand Park is extremely important to the city of Westfield," said Jenell Fairman, the director of economic development.

Fairman says last year, Hamilton County Tourism initiated a study with Hunden Partners of Chicago.

The plan includes more restaurants, hotels, entertainment attractions and maybe even a mini theme park.

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"The hope is by having more hotels, restaurants, entertainment here we can keep hotel traffic here, we can keep that dining experience here," said Fairman.

Westfield says the 10-year plan will be broken up into sections.