News-Record.com

Former NFL player plans sports complex
Greensboro News & Record
October 11, 2006
Author: MICHELLE JARBOE Staff Writer

GREENSBORO - Former Carolina Panther Ricky Proehl has big plans for an athletics complex in northwest Greensboro.

The 20-plus-acre private center, which the former receiver has dubbed Proehlific Park , could include three indoor gyms, batting cages, four soccer fields and three baseball fields for use by children.

And it could open, at the intersection of Jessup Grove and Horse Pen Creek roads, as early as this summer if county officials approve Proehl's proposal.

"It's something I've always wanted to do, I mean, probably for the last three to five years," said Proehl, who spent 16 years in the NFL and played three seasons for the Panthers.

"But now, with my career kind of coming to an end, it's really come to a head."

Proehl has partnered with Robbie Efird , leader of the local software company Network Systems International , to put together and fund the project.

It will be considered tonight by the Guilford County Planning Board , which must grant Proehl a special-use permit before building can begin.

Efird, who has coached youth sports with Proehl, described the complex as a way to blend a passion for sports with service to the community.

But that doesn't mean Proehlific Park isn't about business.

"It's definitely an investment," Efird said. "We feel there's a demand for this type of business, and we feel that, properly managed, it could generate revenue as well."

Memberships at the park, which will cater to children in first to 12th grade, could cost $100 per month, Proehl said. Special rates would be available for families. League and tournament play, and private lessons in several sports, could cost extra.

That plan has raised doubts among some of Proehl's potential competitors.

"I just don't think this town is big enough for all the different things," said Alan Ashkinazy , owner of the Greensboro Batting Center on High Point Road. "I've been coaching in this town for a long time, and I just don't see a lot of people paying money to use baseball fields when they can use the city's for nothing.

"There's a lot of money to be spent, but people don't want to spend it on things they can get for free."

Ashkinazy and Scott Bankhead , who owns the N.C. Baseball Academy on Pleasant Ridge Road, aren't worried that Proehlific Park might hurt their business.

"Competition in the marketplace is good for everybody," Bankhead said. "We've got an eight-year jump on them."

Neighboring Caldwell Academy , undergoing an expansion of its own athletics facilities, is hoping the park succeeds. There's plenty of demand in the area, said Head of School Mark Guthrie , and Caldwell has received calls from groups hoping to use the school's unfinished new fields.

"It's probably the best thing that could go in there," Guthrie said of Proehl's project.

If officials approve the project permit tonight, and county commissioners follow suit, Proehl and Efird still have to buy the land. They have hired an architect and a builder .