Sandhills Global announced Thursday that it has provided a $4 million gift to the complex, which is scheduled to break ground later this year.
“Lincoln is our home base, and we are proud to support the good work of many in the community who have made this wonderful project a reality,†Shawn Peed, Sandhills Global's chief executive officer, said in a news release.
With the donation, the eight-field complex that will be built at First Street and Cornhusker Highway will be called the Sandhills Global Youth Complex.
The cost of the $27 million complex is being split evenly between public and private funds. When plans for the complex were announced in September, organizers said they had raised $8.5 million in private funds and had another $1.5 million pledged.
The Sandhills gift appears to have completed the private fundraising.
“Sandhills was one of the initial funders for one of the five youth-specific fields in the complex,†Peed said in the release. “As we looked more closely at the impact of the complex in its entirety — from an economic standpoint for the region and most importantly for the youth in Lincoln/Lancaster County — we decided we could do more.
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"Our company has a long history of quietly giving to the greater good in the community we call home. We are proud that this complex will bear the Sandhills name, and we’re excited for the impact it will have on the greater community.â€
Brad Korell, Lincoln Youth Complex board chair, called the Sandhills Global gift a game-changer for Lincoln.
“This most generous gift by Sandhills Global and the Peed family is a milestone in helping secure funding for a project that will benefit the youth of Lincoln for years to come,†he said in the news release.
The complex will offer eight artificial turf fields, including lighted stadiums with covered seating that will be home to Nebraska Wesleyan University baseball and softball teams.
Five of the fields will be designated for youth baseball and softball games, and another will be dedicated for use by kids with physical and mental disabilities and will be the base for Homer's Heroes, a program for boys and girls with special needs.
An official groundbreaking ceremony is planned later this spring, and the complex is expected to open by fall of 2024.
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