The City of Newberry expands upon growth in sports tourism and agricultural innovation, while welcoming a mix of new businesses and developments
By Jewell Tomazin
Business is booming in Newberry, as the sports tourism industry continues to grow, the agricultural innovation sector primes for development, the hospitality industry experiences an uptick and several residential and commercial projects are planned or under construction.
Newberry’s leadership embraces the niche, the unusual and the innovative when it comes to business and development. Unorthodox businesses often turned away by other municipalities can find a supportive home here. For example, the Gourmet Rodent relocated to Newberry when it was predominately a rodent feeder operation, and it is now one of the largest reptile breeding facilities in the world and one of the city’s largest employers. The City encourages positive change and development, even if it looks different than what is considered the norm in other places.
In this progressive spirit, the City is facilitating growth in the sectors of sports tourism and agricultural innovation. Newberry provides support for the Champions Park sports complex and the new, mixed-use community surrounding it that is currently under construction, as well as the Agri-Tech Research Park, which is currently in the conceptual stages but anticipated to become a hub for agricultural innovation.
All of this growth is happening while the community stays true to its small-town roots. Residents believe in preserving Newberry’s history in agriculture and phosphate mining, yet they embrace innovation and growth to an extent that is unusual for such a rural community of its size.
Sports Tourism on the Rise in Newberry
The City of Newberry is a sporting event destination that draws athletes and college recruiters from around the nation and many other counties in Florida, contributing to heads-in-beds revenue year-round.
The industry is a huge economic driver for Newberry, with thousands of visitors contributing millions directly and indirectly to the local economy each year just through one of its largest complexes, Champions Park. In addition, there are several other facilities that are incredibly popular within niche communities and also draw visitors from far away.
The Easton-Newberry Sports Complex is renowned among the archery community. The world-class facility has indoor and outdoor shooting ranges and hosts training programs, practices and archery events for all skill levels and styles.
Easton-Newberry Sports Complex at a Glance
- 18 shooting lanes of up to 25 meters
- 3 outdoor covered archery ranges up to 90 meters
- Field archery with 54 mats and 20 3-D ranges
- Indoor range with electronic timing, competition lighting and wiring for public address, wireless mics and video
- Two TVs and drop-down screen with ceiling-mounted projector
- High-speed video cameras available for training courses and instruction
- 60-acre trail system that hosts cross country running events
- Florida wildlife training area
- Laser tag range
- Playground
- Pavilions
- Concessions
The Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center, formerly known as the Canterbury Equestrian Center, is one of Florida’s top destinations for equestrian events and competitions. Recent renovations included new stormwater infrastructure, new water and sewer utilities, new parking facilities and improved pedestrian circulation throughout the facility. In addition to both English and Western-style equestrian competitions, the facility also hosts trade shows, festivals and other events.
Agriculture and Equestrian Center at a Glance
- 250-foot by 150-foot indoor arena
- Clubhouse
- Showroom
- Five separate barns with stalls
- Outdoor warm-up rings
- TV camping sites
- Large event fields
The Gatorback Cycle Park is another unique venue in Newberry that is very well known among a niche community. The off-road track for dirtbikes and other two-wheeled vehicles has been in operation for more than 30 years. It hosts amateur racing events including the Florida Gold Cup, the Florida Winter AM Series and the Thor Mini O’s presented by Pro Circuit.
Hitting it Out of the Park
Champions Park is a state-of-the-art sports complex by Radd Sports that has hosted Little League baseball and travel softball tournaments since 2013. It has gained popularity nationwide for hosting softball tournaments, with top-notch amenities and the ability to facilitate 16 games simultaneously.
Champions Park at a Glance
- 16 well-lit fields convertible from 70-foot fields to smaller diamonds, with enclosed dugouts and A-Turf infields
- Covered spectator viewing areas
- Eight batting cages
- Observation towers for coaches, scouts and recruiters
- Full-service concessions and bathrooms at each quad
- Open areas for warm-up and batting practices
- Certified umpires included
- Parking lot for more than 500 cars
With thousands of athletes and their families traveling to Champions Park each year for multi-day tournaments, the complex has become Greater Gainesville’s No. 1 generator of heads in beds — yes, topping out even Gator sports — according to Rebecca Lamb, past president of Alachua County Hospitality Council. Lamb spoke about Champions Park during a City commission meeting.
“Is Champions Park making an impact in our community? Uh, yeah. Is it more than the Florida Gators? Yes,” Lamb said. “If it were not for your (the City’s) support, and for Champions (Park), we would not have had anything during COVID. They were able to bring business in and maintain while everything else was shut down. Our fields remained open, and our hotels had sold-out nights during a pandemic. Now, oh my goodness, the floodgates have opened.”
Champions Park generated more than $2 million in direct sales and $9 million in indirect sales in 2021, according to Richard Blalock, CEO and president of Radd Sports and the operator of Champions Park. Area hotels often sell out of available rooms on tournament weekends, sometimes even the entire month. Radd Sports has positive relationships with local restaurants, working together to cater meals for umpires and officials and encourage visitors to stay local for dining and entertainment.
“All of our tournament directors that are returning are really making an effort that everybody stays in Newberry, and that they utilize the businesses the best that they can to support the programs,” Blalock said.
2021 in review at Champions Park
- 23 total events
- 1,000+ total teams
- 21 weekends
- Total attendees 42,932
- Out of state 6,179
- Out of county 28,822
- Alachua county 7,931
- Total direct impact: $2,093,829 direct sales
- 15,142 hotel room nights
- $1,869,489 sales
- $93,474 bed tax
- $130,866 sales tax
- Total indirect impact: $9,280,175 indirect sales
- Restaurants, gas, other
- Typical adult spends about $210 per day
3 years in review at Champions Park
- The numbers of teams to compete at Champions Park increased each year:
- 568 in 2019
- 859 in 2020
- 1,093 in 2021
- 2,520 total
- Roughly 101,000 attendees
- Most visitors are from elsewhere in Florida
- Over 32,000 room nights
- $281,000+ in sales tax
- Total impact (direct and indirect) $26.4 million
Champions Park’s layout with 16 fields all in one place makes it easy to spectate multiple games at the same time — a design very appealing and convenient for college recruiters and scouts. They can also watch games from special observation towers.
During showcases and camps in 2021, more than 150 colleges, including every SEC and ACC school plus Big 10 universities Arizona, Arizona State and the University of Washington, came to Newberry. A coach from the University of Washington told Blalock that when COVID restrictions on Division 1 sports were lifted, he decided to fly somewhere in the country to watch softball — and he decided to fly to Newberry, traveling from Spokane, Washington. He offered two scholarships while here on that trip.
“These colleges are putting pressure on these event owners to come to Newberry because of the 16 fields,” Blalock said. “Now, we’re doing the four-day events and three-day events that we promised and we committed to in that first year when we were struggling to meet our contract, and now we’re blowing it out of the water.”
Year after year, Champions Park hosts more events that draw more people and generate more revenue. These exponential increases continue, with the calendar filled with events in 2022.
Agricultural Research Ready to Take Off in Newberry
The City of Newberry has ample space for businesses in the field of agricultural innovation and technology, available in the Agri-Tech Research Park. Still in the conceptual stages, the park is intended to become a hub for innovation in the agricultural sciences.
The research park’s first tenant is the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, which moved into their new office December 2021. IFAS serves every county in Florida and is renowned in the agricultural community for its research and community outreach.
IFAS had outgrown the 45-year-old office it had previously occupied, and this new office expands the extension’s capabilities for public programs. IFAS’ new 13,000-square-foot auditorium can seat more than 300 people, and it can be divided into smaller sections for group sessions, expanding educational opportunities.
The facility includes a teaching kitchen for nutrition and educational programs and a larger teaching garden for Master Gardeners. Now, IFAS will be able to expand its programming and add a new extension agent.
IFAS can provide the private sector with support, innovation and connections, and will therefore serve as an anchor drawing businesses to the research park. The park will become a key economic driver for Newberry and establish the town as an epicenter for invention and advancement in agriculture.
Laying the Foundation for Growth
The City of Newberry is leading several initiatives to support the growing town’s infrastructure needs.
A downtown transportation project will help ease traffic congestion, while new design and development standards along the commercial corridors of Newberry Road and State Road 45 will elevate aesthetics and design, said Bryan Thomas, director of planning and economic development.
Developments and Businesses on the Horizon
- Sandia Town Parc: a mixed-use, live, work, play development that will include 1,400 homes and commercial and light manufacturing space, which will surround the Champions Park sports complex
- Titled land with capability for nearly 5,000 new residences and around 1 million square feet of non-residential space over the next 10 years
- Rural events center with amenities including a beer garden, yoga studio, potential wedding venue, trails and space for educational and entertaining events
- New zip-line facility
- Shopping center
- Drive-through coffee shop
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