Key Takeaways
- Lubbock city council approved 20-acre lease for 137,000-square-foot youth sports facility
- Dr. Rhett Butler’s nonprofit must raise 85% of $51 million construction cost
- Complex features ASB LumiFLEX glass digital court surface used in NBA All-Star games
- Butler estimates facility will attract 3,000 to 5,000 visitors to Lubbock every weekend
- Project follows model of Abilene’s Dodge Jones Youth Sports Center
Youth Sports Industry Takeaway
- Texas cities building tournament-grade facilities with premium technology features
- Nonprofit funding model shifts construction costs away from municipal budgets
- Digital court surfaces becoming available for youth sports venues
Physician-Founded Nonprofit Secures Facility Approval
Lubbock city council approved a 20-acre lease in Bill McAlister Park for a $51 million youth sports complex on Monday. Dr. Rhett Butler, a local physician and youth basketball coach, leads the project through Lubbock Game Changers, a 501(c)3 nonprofit he founded.
The organization must raise 85 percent of the $51 million construction cost without city funding support.
Butler’s motivation came from traveling with his son to basketball tournaments. “Every time we would go out of town, my wife would say, ‘Why don’t we have something like this in Lubbock?'” Butler told the Lubbock Avalanche Journal.
The 137,000-square-foot facility will include six regulation basketball courts, 12 volleyball courts, a sports medicine clinic, pre-game lounges for players and parents, a video game room, and a large arena for championship and exhibition games with second-story stadium seats.
City Council approves land lease to build $51 million youth sports complex in west Lubbock https://t.co/sPJcSeeYN2
— Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (@lubbockonline) August 18, 2025
Championship Arena Features NBA All-Star Court Technology
The complex will feature a 1,800-seat championship arena with ASB LumiFLEX Court surface technology. This glass surface provides grip and elasticity for players while including video display capabilities. The technology was featured in this year’s NBA All-Star game.
“I think every kid in America is going to wanna come play on this,” Butler said about the digital court surface. “When my boy saw that we were going to do this, he was overjoyed.”
Butler estimates the facility will draw between 3,000 and 5,000 people to Lubbock every weekend.
Abilene Facility Serves as Project Model
Butler cites Abilene’s Dodge Jones Youth Sports Center as inspiration for the Lubbock project. The Abilene facility was a $10 million project undertaken by Abilene’s Youth Sports Authority that opened in 2019.
Abilene’s Youth Sports Authority raised $20 million and received another $10 million from the city to add 10 new multi-purpose outdoor fields for soccer and football, scheduled to open in September.
Both the Abilene and Lubbock projects use Jacob and Martin Engineers & Architects as the design firm.
For comparison, Frisco’s Fieldhouse USA is a 140,000-square-foot multi-sport facility that cost $100 million and opened in 2009.
Construction Timeline and Funding Requirements
Lubbock Game Changers faces the task of raising approximately $43.35 million through private fundraising. The lease approval allows the nonprofit to move forward with fundraising and construction planning.
The facility’s location in Bill McAlister Park provides the 20 acres needed for the complex. Butler expects the weekend visitor traffic will benefit local hotels and businesses.
The sports medicine clinic component will provide year-round operations beyond tournament weekends. Butler said he expects the facility to have an economic impact on local hotels and businesses, though specific projections were not provided.
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