A place that softball fanatics, soccer fans and year-round golfers have called “home” for more than three decades is calling it quits.
7 Action News has learned that Liberty Park of America, a sports complex in Sterling Heights, is shutting it’s doors for good in March. A developer interested in purchasing the property has no plans to keep the complex open for sports.
According to public documents, a group based out of Kentucky is looking to re-zone the property to make way for a FedEx facility.
“That’s not very long,” said Herbert Black, a golfer who uses the facility to keep his swing in tune throughout the season. “I hope the sun is up by March!”
Black said he and his friends have been hitting golf balls during the winter months for years at Liberty Park. Two or three times a week you can find him and a handful of guys trying to get a little exercise in while playing golf in the indoor dome.
“They just closed one on 14 Mile and Vandyke a couple years ago,” said Black. “Seems like they’re becoming extinct.”
Of course, the complex has it’s biggest ties to the community in it’s softball traditions. Following the park’s announcement online that it was closing it’s doors comments started flooding in about the many years weekly games, championship and camaraderie.
11 outdoor ball fields have played host to tournaments that brought players from across the state, even the country.
The facility opened in 1984, but would continue to build for years. If you pull into the Liberty Park of America complex now you’ll find an indoor dome, basketball courts and room for volleyball and football too.
All of that will come to an end in a matter of months.
As for the current FedEx facility plans, the initial plan appears to be an 80,000 square foot industrial building with a trucking terminal. It would take a number of steps to get to that point.
The first step is a public hearing of the plans for the property. That will take place on January 12th, during the Sterling Heights Planning Commission meeting at city hall. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m.
