Sportsplex pitching to company teams

By Emily Sorensen

Is your company team looking for a place to hold your softball games? Sportsplex USA, at 12349 McIvers Court, might have the field you’re looking for.

Sportsplex USA, a unique jointly public- and private-owned partnership, provides a safe and entertaining place to play softball and soccer, as well as watching the game and getting a bite to eat.

Sportsplex USA offers three softball fields, with full fences and electronic scoreboards, as well as four slow-pitch softball batting cages, two indoor soccer fields with state-of-the-art synthetic turf and a play area for children. “Every night, we have between 800 to 1,000 people [using the facility],” said Sportsplex USA president Bill Berghoff. “We’re packed. We’re the place to be at night.”

The facility also has a restaurant, the Post Game Pub, which offers beer, pizza, burgers and more to enjoy while watching one of the six flatscreen televisions, with all sports packages. The restaurant’s patio offers views of all three softball fields.

While having softball fields located in the business park may seem strange, Berghoff said the location was ideal. “It’s nice in the industrial park because we aren’t negatively impacting our neighbors with lights and noise from night time games,” said Berghoff. The location also is convenient to many of the surrounding companies, who participate in Sportsplex USA’s after-work softball and soccer leagues, which begin games after 5 p.m. “The game is over by 6, they can have some pizza and beer, and be out of here by 6:30 p.m. to head home,” said Berghoff.

In addition to hosting games and tournaments for adult softball, adult indoor soccer and youth indoor soccer, Sportsplex USA also hosts corporate events, such as company picnics and parties. In addition, Sportsplex USA hosts boys baseball, girls fast pitch and senior softball games and tournaments.

Opened in 1994, Sportsplex USA is an effort in cooperation and mutual benefit. The City of Poway owns the land and built the facility, which is maintained, operated and staffed by Sportsplex USA at no cost to the city. “It’s a neat concept. We’re pioneers in the industry,” said Berghoff. “We have a great relationship with the city, and are in our 20th year of partnership [with the city].”

Berghoff said the partnership was beneficial to the city because it allowed them to have sports fields for adult softball leagues and soccer leagues without the cost of having to have city employees staff them, and also brought in visitors to the city from the weekend tournaments Sportsplex USA hosts.

Sportsplex USA plans to expand its partnerships to the Poway Unified School District in the fall, with a new youth indoor soccer program for PUSD kids ages 3 - 12. “It’s really a win-win-win,” said Berghoff. “The [PUSD] Foundation will get scholarship dollars, we get our name out to families, and the kids will get exposure to a healthy lifestyle, exercise and life lessons from team sports.” Berghoff said they were looking to roll the program out in September, and will offer three indoor soccer seasons per school year. Sportsplex USA will also gives donations back to the school district per child who registers with the program.

To find out more about having Sportsplex USA host your softball or soccer team, call 858-679-4000 or visit www.sportsplexusa.com.