Intersport Inc., a Chicago-based sports marketing firm is planning to develop a youth baseball training camp to be named Intersport Champions Village on a 250-acre parcel owned by Walworth County in Elkhorn. The facility will host traveling youth baseball teams and coaches who come to learn fundamentals and take part in a tournament, said Steve Colombo, president of baseball operations for Intersport Champions Village. Most players will be nine to 12 years old, and will stay at the facility for up to one week, he said.
The facility will be open 12 weeks each summer, at least during its first year of operations, said Shane Crawford, deputy county administrator of Walworth County.
For the first phase of the facility, Intersport plans to construct eight to 10 baseball diamonds, with dorm cabins for players and coaches to stay in. Intersport officials have told the county they have ties to ESPN2, and the company may be able to broadcast a championship game at the end the camp’s season on the cable network, Crawford said.
“There’s a misnomer that this is a camp,” he said. “This is a competitive camp – they play round-robin games and there’s a tournament at the end that’s the championship.”
Conceptual plans also call for a parents’ lounge, Crawford said.
The company is interested in Walworth County because of its proximity to Chicago, Lake Geneva, Milwaukee, Madison and the Wisconsin Dells, Crawford said.
“This (project) is modeled on an East Coast model,” he said. “We’ve learned that when the kids come to play baseball, that’s all there is to do. Parents come year after year, and it gets old. The location is close to vacation destinations, so parents can go during the day or after their kids are done at camp.”
The county-owned land is currently leased to a farmer who is growing crops there, Crawford said.
The first phase of the project calls for Intersport to lease-to-own about 195 of the 250 acres from the county for $180 per acre. Once the first phase is completed, the company will be able to purchase the land at $3,000 per acre plus an escalator, which will increase the price. Lease payments will be credited toward the final purchase price, Crawford said.
The second phase may call for Intersport to expand beyond baseball. The company may add facilities for lacrosse, volleyball, basketball, soccer and possibly other sports, Colombo said.
The future developments may include indoor facilities, Crawford said, which could allow the training facility to operate longer than just 12 weeks during the summer.
The project is currently in conceptual stages, Crawford said. Walworth County officials have voted to conceptually approve Intersport’s project, but the project needs zoning approval from the city of Elkhorn.
“I think (Intersport) has the ball rolling,” Crawford said. “We have to get a contract established with them first.”
In addition to city oversight, county officials will review buildings and plans for the facility.
“Our concern is that they do a quality product,” Crawford said.
