Lincoln Sports Complex unveils four new volleyball courts thanks to community support

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Since Dan Lesoing and his son Sam took over the Lincoln Sports Foundation Campus in 2015, community members say they’ve transformed it into a sports mecca.

The newest feature? Four brand new volleyball courts, ready to use, unveiled on Wednesday.

The courts are just part of the sports complex’s greater vision.

“Our biggest goal is to have as many opportunities for kids, for the youth of Lincoln, and the community, on a daily basis,” said Lesoing.

With over 200 acres of land and 60 acres of farmland still waiting to be developed, LSF offers almost every sport imaginable.

As a non-profit, it also relies heavily on donations and grants, such as the Lancaster County Visitors Promotion Fund.

The Lancaster Board of Commissioners granted LSF 1 million dollars to expand even further.

“We trusted them so much that we awarded them a million dollars, one of the largest grants in this most recent cycle. So, they can continue to build on the success they’ve had,” said Lancaster County Commissioner Rick Vest.

Vest says the Visitors grant is funded by people who stay in Lancaster County hotels.

“Everybody who stays in a hotel room pays a hospitality tax and then the tax goes to fund Visit Lincoln and promotion funds,” he said.

With a goal to draw people into Lincoln, it made sense to the board of commissioners to grant LSF the funds.

“The last time we did it, we had $12 million available. We had $36 million worth of requests from a wide array of agencies. So, it’s a really competitive process,” said Vest.

He went on to say that their success will bolster the county’s economic growth as well.

The City of Lincoln also showed up for LSF as well.

“As somebody who’s grown up in Lincoln and been out here many, many times over the years, skinning their knees on the indoor soccer fields way, way back in the day…this is an exciting day,” said Chris Whitney with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

“This is just a great example of how Lincoln works together and provides these types of opportunities for our youth, and hopefully our youth will grow up and stay here like me,” said Lincoln City councilmember Tom Duden.

Additional partners were also in attendance at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting ceremony, such as Jake Muhleisen, Vice President of Union Bank and Trust.

“We’re all here because we know when you invest in kids, you’re investing in the future of Lincoln and our community,” said Muhleisen.

ALLO Fiber is another partner and is providing free Wi-Fi for the facility.

Todd Francisco, a senior business executive with ALLO said, “Also, I cannot believe how much this has changed here since I was here last time and I want to thank you guys for that.”

As for LSF’s advisory board, Nick Cusick is founder of Bison Inc. and is helping oversee the LSF Campus.

Cusick says he’s proud to see their growth, describing various times in the past he worked with the LSF.

“At one point in time, probably 20 years ago, the facility was a mess, to be totally honest with you. And to see what has happened just in the last handful of years, it’s really quite something,” said Cusick.

Lesoing says their next move is to renovate the building’s main lobby and add a mezzanine; construction is planned to start Dec. 1 with the goal to have the project completed by May.

LSF hopes to be able to welcome double the number of guests, by the beginning of next summer.