CASPER, Wyo. — Wyo Sports Ranch has started construction on a 130,000-square-foot indoor sports complex designed to host youth and amateur sports tournaments and events in Casper. With a projected 18-month construction timeline, the facility is slated to open in 2025.
The Wyo Sports Ranch will transform the environment of youth athletics in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain region by creating a multi-functional space for competition, training and events that promotes a healthy lifestyle for youth year-round. The facility will include basketball and volleyball courts, permanent indoor turf, a sports performance and training center, community rooms and opportunities for other mat sports, dance and cheer, baseball and softball and community events.
The facility will be located in the northeast corner of the Ford Wyoming Center. In October 2022, the Casper City Council voted to lease the land at the Ford Wyoming Center to the Wyo Sports Ranch for the purpose of constructing this facility.
“This project is a great public and private partnership,” City Manager Carter Napier said. “The City Council and myself, as city manager, saw the opportunity for our community to further participate in the United States’ $40 billion sports tourism industry. This facility is projected to generate millions of dollars annually for the community and employ a larger number of our residents in a relatively new industry for our state.
“We are so excited to see construction begin on the Wyo Sports Ranch. We want the best resources for the residents of our community, and this facility will fill a large hole that has existed in Casper, and Wyoming, for a long time.”
Indoor space is limited by the number of facilities available and outdoor space is limited by Casper’s climate. These combining factors make it difficult for teams to practice and play. In addition, Wyoming teams are extensively traveling to find competition and games to play. Wyo Sports Ranch will provide access to space for practice and draw tournaments from a national network to compete in Casper.
Self-Sustaining Nonprofit
The Wyo Sports Ranch is a nonprofit organization that provides donors the opportunity to give and help bring this capital project to Central Wyoming. The goal of the facility is to be self-sustaining through its operations.
The driving force behind the Wyo Sports Ranch is Tyler and Trudi Holthouse of the McMurry Companies, and the lead gift for the project was received from the McMurry Foundation. The McMurry Foundation invests in innovative ventures as well as established community programs that have the potential to make a lasting difference, especially when it comes to the youth of local communities.
“The Wyo Sports Ranch will transform so many aspects of all the things we believe in,” Trudi Holthouse said. “From encouraging economic growth and development, to supporting our state’s tourism, and most importantly giving our families and kids a place to play, it is our honor to continue the legacy of paying it forward. Mickey and Susie [McMurry] are working their magic every step of the way.”
Wyo Sports Ranch will be participating in many community events this summer, including WyoGives Day on July 12.
The nonprofit has already secured 70% of the funds needed for the project, and is working on getting it fully funded.
“This last 30% will be a real community effort,” said Glenda Thomas, Wyo Sports Ranch board member. “We are so close, and many amazing donors have come together to get here, but we aren’t done yet. It’s time for everyone to help us bring youth sports out west.”
