Rob, recreation sports coordinator for the county parks department, told the Greensburg Redevelopment Commission on Jan. 2 that installing turf on four front diamonds at the county complex could attract multi-team tournaments and produce sustained revenue to maintain the complex.

Rob said developers or operators have already guaranteed at least 14 tournaments for the coming year and that conservative projections for a 50‑team tournament yield about $243,000 in local economic impact per event (including $144,000 in lodging revenue and $50,000 in local spending). Multiplying the per‑tournament figure by 15 events yields roughly $3.6 million in annual economic impact under the presenter’s conservative scenario. Rob said concessions revenue for the complex is projected at about $157,000 per year and that those receipts would be used for operations and maintenance.

The presentation included a phased capital plan and a request for a $100,000 funding partnership from the city to cover a remaining shortfall for the immediate phases. Rob described phase 1 as turfing the front four diamonds and said his timeline expectation for the front diamonds is completion and playable turf by April 1. He said, “The ideal is obviously to have all 4 diamonds turf within the next 2 to 3 years.” He also said an earlier budget estimate of about $950,000 for the four diamonds came in “$250,000 less than that,” and that other committed funds exist, leaving a $100,000 gap that he asked the city to help fill.

Commissioners and board members questioned assumptions underlying the revenue estimates. A commission member, Kent (full name not provided), asked whether tournaments would displace local youth play; Rob replied that the rec leagues “don't primarily play on the weekends anyway” and that staff and tournament organizers plan to coordinate schedules. Another commissioner raised the town’s hotel capacity, noting Greensburg has “about 360” rooms and expressing skepticism that all tournament lodging would be local; Rob and others replied that nontraditional lodging (campgrounds, fairgrounds) and nearby towns typically absorb overflow during tournaments.

The presentation also addressed operations: the parks department intends to operate concessions directly and to hire maintenance staff rather than rely solely on volunteers. Rob acknowledged volunteer availability has declined and said the department budget anticipates paying staff for concessions and weekend maintenance; he said some community members have offered paid or volunteer maintenance help.

Commission legal staff and members raised a jurisdictional funding question: whether the complex falls within the city's economic‑development TIF perimeter, which affects whether city tax‑increment revenue can be used. City legal staff said they would need to confirm the TIF boundaries and review the original creation ordinances before the city could commit funds. The presenter also said the Decatur County Redevelopment Commission has committed funds to the project; during the meeting Rob said, “we did receive $400,000 for these phases from the Decatur County Redevelopment Commission.”

Rob described additional phases — equipment and dirt renovation, a new concession and restroom building, cameras and access control, walking paths and eventual turfing of the back four diamonds — and said some grant applications (including a requested Honda grant for a sensory path) are pending.

No formal motion or vote to commit city funding appears in the transcript. The presentation concluded with discussion and questions about scheduling, concession policies (coolers, closed concessions) and staffing costs.