Our Story

During a 2001 community survey for Ontwa Township's Parks and Recreation Master Plan, a multi-sport complex moved quickly to the top of the participant's wish list. Community leaders and residents of Edwardsburg dreamed of enhancing the local area by building a facility at which to host youth sports and other recreational activities for people of all ages. At this time, local youth sports organizations like soccer, football, and Little League were using school property. It was felt the rate of growth of the Edwardsburg community showed a school expansion on the horizon, posing a threat to the spaces used by youth athletics.

During this time, Ed Patzer, community and business leader, had been attending seminars with a company called Strategic Coach. Through this experience, he was challenged to act on the things he wanted to truly accomplish to leave a legacy. Ed dreamed of seeing a sports complex in the Edwardsburg area, to ensure that kids would always have a place to play.

In June of 2005, Ed formed a committee to establish a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. He enlisted Scott Mackling as youth soccer representative, Tim Coquillard Little League rep., Brian Slack Rocket Football rep, Jim Ralph township trustee, David Taylor area attorney, Mark McName CPA, and Cathrine Toms also representing Edwardsburg Youth Soccer. Through Ed's work on the school board of Edwardsburg Public Schools, he met Nancy Owen of Kalamazoo. The committee hired the Owen Group to perform a feasibility study for the project in the fall of 2005. The Edwardsburg Youth Soccer Association provided the $20,000 to fund the study.

Through the fall of 2006, the committee continued to focus on fundraising and land acquisition. Five parcels of land came into consideration as viable for construction of the complex. Also, during this time, the committee obtained a one million dollar in kind donation of excavation work from Marv Selge, President of Selge Construction Company and area resident.

In December of 2007, Edwardsburg Sports Complex came closer to reality when the 102-acre property was purchased from Judy Padbury. The property was the Wilkinson family homestead. Its location was close to the Edwardsburg schools and easily accessible to Niles and Granger families. The sale included a donation of 10 acres from Mrs. Padbury, and the main road into the complex will be named after her grandfather. The purchase was made possible by a combination of donations and a loan provided by Chemical Bank.

 In February of 2008, a strategic planning meeting with community leaders was held at which they discussed what the community wanted included in the complex and what were the priorities. Shortly after, with $20,000, excavation by Selge Construction, and donations from Red Hen Turf Farm and Charlie’s Lawn Service the first three multi-use fields were constructed. In 2010 the fields were ready for Edwardsburg Youth Soccer Association (EYSA) to begin using.

ln 2012, Bret Hendrie joined the Complex's team as Executive Director. Bret used his experience with more than 30 years of working for non-profits, including the Niles-Buchanan YMCA, to continue construction, and volunteer management in support of the mission. During his tenure, two additional irrigated, multi-purpose fields were planted and the maintenance garage and well building was built.

When it was disclosed that US 12 was going to be paved west of Edwardsburg in 2012   the ESC staff worked diligently with MI Legislators to have the excel/DE-excel lane added to the project.  It was agreed that the lane would be paved at a cost to ESC.  This project was a great improvement and safety factor for the entrance of our facility.

In 2014, construction began on Pavilion A, the facility's first modern restroom and picnic pavilion. That same year, Bret and complex volunteers started the Youth Advisory Council, a group of local high school students whose purpose was to perform service projects at the ESC and take on leadership roles in projects and activities. In July 2014, a gift of $39,875 was made through the charitable remainder trust of Frances Proper to start the Edwardsburg Sports Complex Foundation. It was later endowed with the Community Foundation of Elkhart County. The fund's purpose is to provide capital improvements to the Complex and scholarships for student volunteers.

Early in 2015, the Complex worked in conjunction with the Cass County Road Commission to receive a federal grant through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program to build the "Connector Path," a 10-foot-wide multi-use pathway between the Complex and the village of Edwardsburg. Jennifer Mackling took over as Executive Director in April of 2015, just in time for many big Complex "firsts." The Complex's two newest multi-purpose fields were ready for use in the fall, at which time EYSA was able to move all age groups and activities to the Complex. The development of a cross-country walking/running course allowed the Edwardsburg High School cross-country team to have its first home course in Edwardsburg in over 18 years. Additionally, underground utility expansion was completed and in October of 2015, the wells were fired up and Pavilion A's modern restrooms were open for use by soccer.

In 2016, the Edwardsburg Lions Club made a $15,000 gift and contributed countless volunteer hours to build an open-air picnic pavilion in commemoration of Lions Club’s International 100th anniversary. Excavation and irrigation installation started on three more multi-purpose fields with a grant from the U.S. Soccer Foundation. In July, the Complex collaborated with OSMC, Wightman & Associates, and other volunteers to host a Community Build Day of the Complex's first nature-inspired playground.

Excavation continued throughout the property through the generous gift from Selge construction. Ariel views revealed an ever more distinguishable layout of the complex. Construction began in 2017 on Pavilion B, a restroom, concession, storage, and picnic pavilion catering to the lower fields. The three new fields started in the prior year were finished and planted with grass, and work was completed on the fourth parking lot. On two different work days, volunteers transplanted 50 trees from the ESC’s on-site nursery to their permanent homes throughout the property. In August, the Complex Board signed a five-year field use agreement with the Indiana Land Sharks travel baseball club, fueling the start of baseball and softball field construction.

In 2018, construction of the first two baseball diamonds began with the goal to be completed by Spring 2019 for use by the Indiana Land Sharks as practice fields.  Work included planting grass outfields, developed infields, foundation for backstop walls, dugouts, Musco light bases, and backstop poles.  Also, finishing touches on Pavilion B and additional work on the Lions Pavilion were completed.

It was a busy year, 2019!  The baseball/softball quad saw the majority of the activity with the back-stop walls, dugouts and netting being installed.  The block and brick walls and dugouts were expertly built by Mike North’s company.  Dan Raab, a friend of the complex, volunteered a large amount of his time and talent to the project, as well. The back-stop netting was installed by J. Hicks Co. during some very unpleasant weather.  Following a few hiccups in getting the metal roofing for the dugouts, an all-volunteer crew cut and laid the roofs on a quiet, not too cold, weekend in December. During the fall, diamonds 3 and 4 had irrigation installed by Charlie’s Lawn Service and were seeded by Ledger Krupp and Mike Gordon.

Two more multi-use fields were developed on the east side of the property bringing our total to ten fields available for soccer, lacrosse and football.  Chad Burger donated his time and materials to kill the vegetation before Hostetler Lawn and Landscaping graded the fields.  Charlie’s Lawn Service installed the irrigation and again, our dedicated volunteers did the seeding.

The Lion’s shelter and Pavilion B had sidewalks installed to provide better access from the parking lots. Kuert Concrete donated the concrete.  Lion’s Club members provided the labor to install the sidewalk to their pavilion.  Phil Constable was hired to pour the sidewalk for Pavilion B with a significant amount of volunteer help from Glen Emenaker.

Rocket Football joined the other sports organizations in calling ESC it’s home. They signed a contract to practice and play all of their games at ESC starting in the fall of 2019.  With this new field use we needed goal posts and a scoreboard.  Midwest Energy and Communications donated $5000 towards a scoreboard and ESC purchased combination football and soccer goal posts.  Volunteers from Rocket together with equipment and help from Kirkdorfer Farms did the installation of both.

Late in the fall, Wakarusa Tree Spade was hired to get over 30 trees ready to be relocated from our tree farm.  Again, a volunteer group planted the trees in various places around the complex.

In other business, after a change in the scholarship requirements, the ESC foundation awarded three $250 scholarships to seniors involved in our Youth Advisory Council.

The concession stand had it’s first full year of operation.  Development of the concession stand started in the fall on 2017 spearheaded by volunteer Robin Emenaker.  Under her guidance the concession stand was built out, organized and ready for operation for the fall 2018 season.

A new fundraising event was planned and carried out on September 7, 2019, the Michiana Harvest Blues Festival. We hired SDY Promotions who have been helping non-profits raise funds through music festival for over 20 years. The event featured four blues bands, food vendors, and a beer and wine bar and various raffle prizes. It was very well attended by over 700 people.

Since incorporation, the ESC has raised over $3.8million in cash and in-kind donations from supporters across the Michiana area and across the country. The money has been used to further the dream of building a multi-sport complex. Annually, over 600 youth use the facility for soccer practices, camps and games, cross-country running, and other activities. The future success of ESC will be driven by the generosity of our donors, dedication of our volunteers, demands of our region for programing, and the support of the facility and program.

2020 was an unusual year, to say the least!  Just as the complex was gearing up for a busy spring season we had to close due to the Covid-19 virus.  We were basically closed or effected through the majority of the year except for one summer soccer camp and some baseball practice.  Regular maintenance of the complex continued; the newly planted fields grew in very well. 

Development of the baseball quad continued.  Warm up areas and fencing were added to field one, irrigation repairs and final steps completed on all fields and the common area irrigation installed. The infields and common areas received the final grading by Hostetler Lawns and Landscaping. 

The construction of an outdoor basketball/pickleball court was an exciting addition.  Through donations from individuals and a partnership with the township the funding was raised for the high school regulation sized court which can be converted into three pickleball courts. 

In the fall, work began on the Cross-Country trail that changed dramatically.  Two new loops were added, a 1k and 2k, which increased the length, running options, and changed the terrain to be more challenging.  A number of volunteers, youth advisory council members and the Edwardsburg high school cross country team and coach helped with the process. 

 Long Term Goals & Objectives

The long-term objectives of the Edwardsburg Sports Complex include:

·         Develop, operate and maintain a sports and recreation facility serving future generations of athletes in the region.

·          Provide out-of-school-time athletic and recreational programs and activities to regional youth;

·         Support organized community sports programs by providing high quality playing surfaces, shelters, and site furnishings; 

·        Host tournaments for a variety of sports;

·        Encouraging economic growth in our region through increased activity.

    2019-2020-2021 Strategic Goals

·         Complete 3-year Business/Strategic Plan

·         Capital Campaign

·         4 Baseball Fields Ready for Tournament Schedule in 2021

 Program & Activity Highlights

The Edwardsburg Sports Complex provides fields and facilities for community soccer, football, baseball, softball, cross country, and lacrosse programs. ESC hosts instructional camps in the summer months. ESC provides a venue for a community running/walking path and an outdoor basketball/pickleball court. A youth leadership development program, the Youth Advisory Council, gives local high school students opportunities to learn about organizational dynamics, to plan and provide community events and activities, and to obtain volunteer service hours needed for various high school pursuits

and college applications. The Foundation of the sport’s complex awards scholarship money to the youth for further education or technical training bases on participation in Youth Advisory Council activities. The volunteers and staff at the Edwardsburg Sports Complex also host community events and family activities, as well as making the facility available for event rental.