Here Tomorrow, Gone Today

Michael Johnson Center On Horizon, Sportsplex History

McKinney is just months away from being the focal point of a five-time Olympic gold medalist’s dream, while a mega-dollar new sports facility has found greener pastures elsewhere.

First, the good news. The Michael Johnson Performance Training Center at Craig Ranch, a 23,000-square foot facility located at the north end of the Ballfields at Craig Ranch on Alma Road, is on schedule for a late June opening, according to Carrie Miller of Publicis Consultants.

The center is an ambitious project which will be the first of its kind in Texas. Modeled after the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Michael Johnson Performance Training Center at Craig Ranch will be a place for elite athletes from around the world to train using the most up-to-date science and technology available.

The crown jewel of The Center will be the eight-lane, 400-meter rubberized outdoor track stadium, complete with a grass or turf infield. The stadium will seat 4,000. The Center will also have a full-court basketball gym and a four-lane, 60-yard rubberized indoor track.

There are plans for complete performance programs for kids, including football, basketball, girls and boys soccer and track training for individuals and teams. Youth summer sports camps will also be run through the facility.

Craig Ranch provided 14 acres for the project and the City of McKinney is helping to develop the outdoor track in conjunction with real estate developer Wellstone Communities.

Now, the bad news. The proposed McKinney Sportsplex is no more.

The Sportsplex was a venture designed to encompass youth and adult sport in McKinney and was going to be constructed in two phases. Phase I was a 179,780-square-foot sports complex at the southwest corner of Stonebridge Drive and Eldorado Parkway. Phase II was a 153,280-square-foot indoor sports facility designed to include 12 hardwood basketball/volleyball courts, an indoor turf field for soccer and arena football, a recreational workout area, a players locker room area, a playground area for younger children, a food court, a team store and three party rooms.

Gary Oliver, director of the development, said that his company, MSC Partners, LOP, was unable to come to suitable financial terms with the City of McKinney and moved the project to Frisco. Oliver said construction on the facility, re-named Sports Village, USA, is set to begin in May.

"It’s unfortunate, but we’re not ruling out coming back to McKinney in the future," Oliver said. "We plan to open more facilities in the coming years."

In other local development news, a Hank Haney Golf Ranch employee confirmed the pending sale of the facility on Custer Road.

The 56-acre parcel of land was originally the subject of a failed deal with homebuilder D.R. Horton, Inc., in October. The complex, which housed a 9-hole golf course, training facilities, putting and chipping greens and a pro shop, was essentially gutted in anticipation of the sale. D.R. Horton, Inc., pulled out of the deal at the last minute leaving owner Hank Haney high and dry.

With the closure, the on-site instructors were split between the Hank Haney at Vista Ridge facility in Lewisville and Westridge Golf Course, just north of the Golf Ranch on Custer Road in McKinney.  A Hank Haney teaching facility is under construction at Westridge.

The Hank Haney Golf Ranch representative declined to name the current residential homebuilder in negotiations for the land, but said the deal is pending final approval from both parties.