CASPER — Weeks after opening its doors, the comments from people walking into the new WYO Sports Ranch never get old for its general manager.
“We hear, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing in the world. I wish we would have had this when we were a kid,’” Joe Hanson said.
Both the young and not-so-young have been putting on their sports gear to enjoy the huge 130,000-square-foot sports complex on the northwest side of Casper following its opening in early January.
WYO Complex Executive Director Luke Gilliam, who leads the nonprofit responsible for the facility, said more than 10,000 people brought $1 million in economic impact to the Casper region in the first two months.
“We are ecstatic to be open and watching what the WYO Sports Ranch can do in such a short time,” he said. “We are simply extremely grateful for what we have experienced in a short while and we are extremely excited for what is to come.”
For University of Wyoming volleyball Coach Kaylee Nicole Prigge, whose team played an exhibition match against Laramie County Community College at the facility, it represents something “huge for our state and growing sports and the access it gives kids to play.”
She pointed out that three-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings has already hosted a volleyball camp at the facility.
“When prepping our team, I asked the young women on our team from Wyoming if they had ever had a youth or high school sports experience at a facility like this, and all of them immediately shook their heads ‘no,’” Prigge said. “Our experience was awesome.
“Before we played the spring match, we ran two camp sessions for 7- to 17-year-olds on 12 courts in the same facility.”
Practical Solution For Club
Casper Soccer Club Executive Director Wendy Brown said the facility’s 35,000 square feet of green turf means a practical solution to getting her program under one roof.
“We enjoy the facility. Having an indoor place to practice and run our league has been great,” she said. “In the past we have rented space throughout the city, so we were kind of spread out all over the place.
“It’s nice to have it all in one place and have our teams in different age groups and have our parents to attend just one place instead of having to go all over town.”
And Casper’s Kelly Walsh High School Athletic Director John Sheaff said the high school’s soccer teams took advantage of the indoor turf to practice during the winter sports season.
“The benefits for our community and the youth of our community are boundless,” he said.
After more than a year of construction, the $52 million facility in northwest Casper opened its doors and on the first weekend hosted more than 300 youth volleyball players. Its second weekend saw a youth basketball tournament with 60 teams and NBA champion Ron Harper signing autographs.
WYO Sports Ranch hosted the Wyoming Youth Basketball State Championship Tournament earlier in March.
Hanson said the facility that initially planned for 24 weekend tournaments now has 40 scheduled with an additional 25 potential events in the pipeline.
“We were able to launch our own club volleyball program of 200- 300 girls and a little wrangler’s program through the week,” he said. “We have 2- to 5-year-olds all the way up to collegiate (age) that we are able to make an impact on. So, I think that’s pretty special.”
The facility features six basketball or 12 permanent volleyball courts and more than 35,000 square feet of indoor turf that can also be converted to four additional basketball courts or 12 additional volleyball courts.
he University of Wyoming Volleyball Team and Laramie County Community College put on a well-attended exhibition match at the WYO Sports Ranch on March 1. (Courtesy WYO Sports Ranch) 
General Manager Joe Hanson enjoys listening to the comments of those who visit the WYO Sports Ranch for the first time. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The University of Wyoming Volleyball Team and Laramie County Community College put on a well-attended exhibition match at the WYO Sports Ranch on March 1. (Courtesy WYO Sports Ranch) 
The lobby of the WYO Sports Ranch sits in the middle of all the action that occurs on its basketball and volleyball courts and turf area. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
Three-time Olympic gold-medal winner Kerri Walsh Jennings addresses athletes at a volleyball camp event at the WYO Sports Ranch. (Courtesy WYO Sports Ranch) 
The $52 million WYO Sports Ranch opened in January and has already hosted more than 10,000 visitors and sports participants. (Courtesy WYO Sports Ranch)
Computer Conversions
Hanson said all it takes is an iPad to convert basketball courts to volleyball and 10 minutes.
The hoops and nets are automatically raised and lowered from the ceiling. Prep for a recent weekend’s events involved covering the turf side with hardwood floor.
The facility also has a sports medicine room, community team rooms and a space for referees and officials.
A food court features several different options of food for parents and participants.
“Our burgers are tremendous. They are incredible,” he said. “Nothing but great reviews on that.”
The city of Casper leased the nonprofit the land that sits next to the Wyoming Ford Center where the WYO Sports Ranch sits. Construction funding for the facility was privately raised from donors and foundations.
Filling A Gap
Hanson said the center’s space allows for a lot of possibilities for use, but they do not want to take anything away from events and opportunities elsewhere in the city.
“We just want to wait and see what the needs of the community are first,” he said. “We are just trying to figure out what still continues to be a need. So, once we fill one hole with a need, what is the next hole we need to fill to make this more community oriented.”
For Brown and the Casper Soccer Club, the facility has given them a place to practice and sponsor a futsal league of five-on-five for adults and youth. Futsal is a type of indoor soccer.
“We had teams from Green River, Laramie, Cheyenne, New Castle as well as Riverton, Lander and Sheridan,” Brown said. “Hopefully next year we will get a few kids from Billings and possibly Rapid City.”
In-State, Out-State Destination
Hanson said the venue’s first tournament in January had teams from Jackson, Utah and Colorado.
He estimates athletes from every city in the state have already tested its courts and space. A volleyball tournament includes participants from Florida and other places in the nation.
Visitors who walk into the lobby of the facility are confronted with digital displays that can be tailored the weekend events. There are several tables in front of the facility’s food court and overhead an antler chandelier.
“It truly is a special facility, just seeing people come through, the shock on their face just seeing how cool this is,” Hanson said.
While Hanson said the ranch’s mission centers around participatory and spectator events, it also has a community meeting room, and its massive court space could be opened up for other needs.
During the National College Finals Rodeo in June at the Ford Wyoming Center next door, the WYO Sports Ranch will host a mercantile trade show.
The center is also hosting a private business conference this month and has a Wyoming State Athletic Training Conference on its calendar for June.
Hanson characterizes the facility as “game-changing” for its opportunities and economic impact.
“The fact we have 50 events out there that are attainable year one is truly special, not just for Casper, but for the state of Wyoming — frankly for the whole Rocky Mountain Region,” he said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
