A planned Royse City (TX) ballpark will be more than just home to a independent Southwest League team in 2018: city leaders see the 107-acre ballpark site as offering unique venues in an entertainment district.
The Southwest League, launched by veteran operator Mark Schuster, is set to launch in 2018 in six Texas cities, including Royse City, where $12 million has been allocated for the new ballpark. And Royse City officials say the ballpark is just one piece of the puzzle. Instead of fast food, for instance, the city wants to attract a more elevated experience — an experience that could attract other outside developers. From the Royse City Herald Banner:
“We’re really working hard to make that 107 acres – or a majority of the 107 acres – something we want,” [Larry Lott, executive director of the Royse City Community Development Corporation] told CDC board members.
“We’ve got a lot of fast-food restaurants that have come around Wal-Mart. We knew that would happen. We’re glad they did – Whataburger, Dairy Queen. They’re all very welcomed establishments, but what we want to do down here is focus more on the sports venue entertainment, recreational and even restaurants like Buffalo Wild Wings and people like that that focus on entertainment-type stuff and recreation stuff.
“So, we’re really wanting to make that 107 acres something special and different.”
RELATED STORIES: Royse City Approves Ballpark-Related Spending; Southwest League Coming to Royse City