Just over one year after opening in March 2023, Chesterfield Sports Complex has been renamed to The Beal Center after St. Louis-raised, Phoenix Suns NBA Star Bradley Beal. Beal acquired naming rights, but the facility will continue to be owned and operated by Chesterfield Sports Association (CSA). The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was formed to give St. Louis youth the opportunity to grow, develop, and reach their highest potential as an athlete, student and individual.
“My family and friends, everybody had a lot to do with my journey to get here and the Bradley Beal Elite program too. I’d like it to continue more than just me,” said Beal at the event.
Bradley Beal Elite (BBE), the top-ranked, NIKE-sponsored club in the Midwest, has been a tenant of the facility since the facility opened. Its top-ranked players from across the nation fly in to practice at the facility on weekends. Last month, the U16 Bradley Beal Elite Team, which practices at the facility, won the prestigious Nike Elite Basketball League’s Peach Jam tournament featuring the top highschool basketball players in the United States and Canada.
The Naming Celebration on August 8th included unveiling the massive new The Beal Center sign and featured speeches by Tim Holloway, President of Bradley Beal Elite/St. Louis Eagles Basketball Club and Stuart Duncan, Chesterfield Sports Association Executive Director. After the event, Beal met with guests and the media.
“We are incredibly excited to see the sign go up on The Beal Center and mark this amazing space for what it is — one of the top basketball and volleyball facilities in the country,” said Duncan. “In the little time we have been open, this sports complex has attracted dozens of national sporting events, had the Bradley Beal Elite U16 team win national championships, expanded programming and helped underserved youth access experience the positive impact of sports. The future is so bright for basketball and volleyball in St. Louis!”
Programming at The Beal Center includes youth basketball clinics and leagues, birthday parties, corporate and sports team events, performance training through the on-site ACE Performance Lab and tournaments hosted by local, regional and national basketball and volleyball leagues. The facility has also been used for other national sporting competitions, including gymnastics and martial arts.
St. Louis’ first and only world-class, indoor volleyball and basketball complex, the multi-court, 97,000-square-foot facility features nine basketball courts that convert to 18 volleyball courts and are equipped with Olympic-level flooring and HD/4K streaming cameras. A sophisticated LED lighting system is programmable with various lighting levels and colors to best illuminate basketball or volleyball action. Additional amenities include a fitness area, full food service operations, comfortable spectator seating courtside, a second-floor mezzanine for game viewing, lounge areas and multipurpose rooms for team rooms, meetings and classes.
Tenants represent some of the best youth basketball and volleyball athletes in the region and the nation, as well as athletes of all levels. In addition to Bradley Beal Elite Basketball Club, they are High Performance STL, Stratman Sports and CNR Basketball. The facility’s medical provider, Mercy Sports Medicine, has athletic trainers on site for all practices, games and tournaments.
Stuart Duncan formed CSA in 2020 after more than 20 years as a volunteer coach, tournament director, and board member for various local sports organizations. His passion for youth sports and development drove his mission to develop the sports complex. “We have one mission, and that is to take care of the youth of St. Louis,” he said.
Before the complex opened, the lack of safe and adequate facilities locally forced area basketball and volleyball clubs to use multiple locations, hours away, to meet their needs and tournament organizers turned to venues in other Midwestern cities.
An economic driver for local restaurants, hotels and retail establishments, the sports complex attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year with 1,000 youth athletes practicing there each week and 2,500 athletes playing tournaments on the weekend, including high numbers of out-of-town guests.
Chesterfield Sports Association secured significant commitments from partners, private donors, corporate donors, and a bank loan to build Chesterfield Sports Complex. Community support, via charitable gifts and sponsorships, is still needed to increase opportunities for student athletes and keep rental costs affordable.Naming rights to various spaces gives corporate sponsors high-profile exposure to the 900,000 visitors anticipated at the Chesterfield Sports Complex each year. Learn more at https://chesterfieldsports.com/sponsorships
For information about programming and events at The Beal Center, visit www.chesterfieldsports.com or email info@chesterfieldsports.com. Also, follow chesterfieldsports on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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