Business View Magazine l November 2022

177 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 developments, originally called The Bridgeport Sports Complex, which initially represented the baseball field. However, after a few months, it was rebranded to The Bridge Sports Complex, which was the name of the 56,000 square foot indoor facility across the road. This impetus behind the naming was a desire to include the surrounding facilities and land within one uniform name. The Bridge Sports Complex offers a genuinely immersive sporting experience. The facility offers four beautiful baseball fields, indoor and outdoor walking paths, a multipurpose field, a useful indoor turf field that can be configured for all sports, the United Hospital Center (UHC),Aquatics Center, a Clip n” Climb facility, Wesbanco Fieldhouse for basketball courts, a fully equipped fitness center and more. The sporting complex is widely considered the number one sporting complex in West Virginia. In addition, the location of the complex makes accommodation easy for teams traveling to the destination, with a variety of hotels nearby, as well as easy access to the airport, local restaurants as well as a selection of shops. “The complex has already hosted anywhere from 13 to 15 baseball events every summer since opening,” says Joe Shuttleworth, Director of Parks and Recreation for Bridgeport. “It didn’t take long before we could see the economic impact of the complex on our community.” Recently, the state of West Virginia passed a law called the Home Rule Tax. This law allows companies to add to the state tax for additional revenue. The state taxes %, and an additional 1% is taxed on fees for recreation projects in the area and the complex. The Bridge Sports Complex is managed by a sports facilities company, SFC (Sports Facilities Company). Droo Callahan, a contract worker from the company, is now also the General Manager. THE BR IDGE SPORTS COMPLEX