Casper, Wyoming was always lacking in space for youth sports activities. In 2021, a small group of people decided to create a solution which became a reality.

NASHVILLE, TN, UNITED STATES, April 3, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Casper, Wyoming was always lacking in space for youth sports activities. In 2021, a small group of people decided to create a solution.

”What started as a two-court facility that was going to solve a problem grew to a six-court facility, which would help the community to a 10-court facility that really knocks it out of the park for the region,” explains Trudi Holthouse, Wyo Sports Ranch board member.

Holthouse was among that original group that was committed to not only provide a space for youth to grow as athletes, but also to create something that would generate economic impact in the community.

“With this footprint, 10 courts under one roof didn’t exist in the Rocky Mountain region until we decided to do it here. And then we said, ‘Hey, let’s level up. This is Wyoming. We want it to be an experience,’” explains Jessica Hastings, treasurer for the Board.

The faithful group of visionaries saw their dream become reality earlier this year as the 130,000 square foot indoor WYO Sports Ranch officially opened its doors to welcome its first athletes in January.

In its first week of operations, WYO Sports Ranch Volleyball Club (WYORVC) kicked off with more than 300 youth volleyball players. The WYO Sports Ranch added in turf time for the Casper Soccer Club, basketball practices for the local high school teams, and opened its Sports Performance Center with a volleyball-focused training program. It also hosted the Griddy Up, a flag football tournament with over 100 local youth athletes competing on the WYO Sports Ranch turf.

On its second weekend of operation, the WYO Sports Ranch hosted the Altitude Tip-Off, a youth basketball tournament with over 60 teams, 543 athletes and 110 games all played under one roof. “And to top it off, we welcomed five-time NBA Champion, Ron Harper into the Sports Ranch to shoot around, sign autographs, and talk with kids,” said General Manager Joe Hanson. “We had over 1,500 spectators and served over 275 cheeseburgers!”

And they are just getting started. Before opening, the WYO Sports Ranch anticipated 24 weekend tournaments for 2025; however, there are already 38 events committed and the facility is targeting nearly 50 for the year.

“We wanted it to be an experience for all the people coming through, so we added some amazing features through our partnership with Advent,” says Hastings.

Advent is an experience design firm specializing in creating audience-centric interactive digital experiences.John Downie, Advent’s senior vice president of strategic solutions, and his team of digital developers met with the WYO Sports Ranch team to understand the problems they were trying to solve and how the thousands of visitors would interact with the space.

“By understanding the functional needs of the space we realized that digital was the best platform to serve their needs on day one and day 300 as their vision evolves. Our core mission was to create varied storytelling opportunities that would not only engage audiences of all ages, but also help drive revenue through sponsorship opportunities,” Downie explains.

“Adding all the Advent technology for us was just a no-brainer because it’s a tool for us to allow an experience-based opportunity. A lot of sports complexes are the same. We want to be different,” says Hastings. “How can we use these screens in a way that’s going to pull out the emotions of the kids when they see their picture up there, and also put sponsorships up there.”

“I knew we needed to go big or go home, and I wanted to have a space for people to experience things in a new way. I want when people walk in to have that wow factor,” says Holthouse.

Featured Digital Experiences
Welcome “Fin”: an 19-foot impact-resistant LED double-sided screen mounted on wheels; flexibility to serve as space branding, event recognition, live feeds, league brackets, photo opportunities.

Ticket Booth and Donor Wall: digital surfaces are embedded into the snow fence timber facade to create surprise and delight and honor local traditional materials. The ticker tape-like digital screens can scroll welcome messages, graphics, and in the case of the donor wall, names of those who made WYO Sports Ranch possible.

Photo Moment: the single largest digital surface in the space (17’ 8” x 18’ 10”) allows the operating team to quickly update content with a number of different media elements as a playlist in real time such as event-based messaging, social media photos and video, logo overtake

Wyoming Proud Wall: the 28’ 5” tall wall boasts a 25’ 10”x 6’ tall LED screen that was designed to complement the massive static image by the late local artist Sean Rivet whose work is well-respected in Wyoming. The screen is flanked by the storytelling moment of the Cowboy Code of Ethics.

Kiosks: two touch screen kiosks in each wing of the space serve a need for a variety of audiences to uncover in a self-directed way to learn more about the mission, the space itself, the donors behind the vision and local community information.

WYO Sports Ranch At A Glance

10 Basketball Courts
20 Volleyball Courts
131,000 Square Feet
131’ x 190’ Turf Field
Four short-side soccer fields
Team and Referee Rooms
Full service kitsch with catering capabilities
Full concessions
Athletic Training Room
Three Community/Team Rooms
Sports Performance Center

Project Cost: $52 million (privately funded)
Architect: Stateline No 7, Casper, WY
Contractor: FCI Constructors of Wyoming
Digital Experience Design: Advent, Nashville, TN
Owner/Operator: WYO Complex

Susan Shafer
Advent
+1 615-516-6669
email us here

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