The new youth baseball and softball complex in Bradley will provide more than just a destination for travel sports teams.

The 12-diamond, $50 million complex immediately east of the Bradley Commons Shopping Center at St. George Road likely will be the new home for Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School varsity boys baseball.

At an annual cost of $5,000, the school will play its home games a mile or two north of the school’s North Street campus.

The BBCHS board has not yet approved the contract.

Per the pending agreement, BBCHS will pay the village in four equal installments beginning Feb. 1 and concluding May 1.

The four-year contract would expire Nov. 30, 2028, unless two governmental bodies extend the intergovernmental agreement.

The move also will allow for something the BBCHS players did not have at their current home: night baseball games.

BBCHS Principal Evan Tingley noted that the school’s current field does not have lights.

It is not known if or how many night games would be played, Tingley said. He said athletic director Mike Kohl, in conjunction with the baseball coach, makes up the schedule.

“We are excited about the partnership,” Tingley said of working with Bradley village officials. “The [315] facility is absolutely beautiful.”

By a 5-0 vote at Monday’s board meeting, Bradley trustees approved the contract. Trustee Grant Vanden Hout was absent.

BBCHS will have access to the park’s premier diamond, Championship Field, also known as Field 5, and Field 2, which is a multipurpose field.

Championship Field is lighted and has stadium-style seating. All 315 fields are fully turfed and fenced. Bradley officials noted that Championship Field came with a price tag of about $5 million.

Bradley Finance Director Rob Romo said the agreement will allow BBCHS to put its expansion money to a different use in regard to the $70 million upgrade at the high school, which includes construction of a fieldhouse.

There is not expected to be much conflict between BBCHS baseball and travel baseball this coming spring.

Travel baseball does not reach its peak until mid- to late June, and the BBCHS season would be completed by that point. There may be weekends in late April or May when BBCHS would be playing at 315 and travel teams also would be at the site.

Opened to travel youth travel baseball, softball and soccer teams this year, the site has experienced rave reviews.

Although the park was heavily used during the summer months for baseball, often with more than 100 teams from across the Midwest filling the complex, the site remains a draw.

More than 30 girls softball teams and a few boys baseball teams will be playing games this weekend and next weekend as well, facility director Jim Byrne said.

The Bourbonnais Township Park District also has a contract with Bradley for its slow-pitch, 12-inch softball program. The district pays $50 per hour per field. The district pays for the use on a monthly basis.

The district had been playing adult slow-pitch softball at Diamond Point Park as recently as 2021. The district is working to rejuvenate its softball leagues.

The park district’s expense would depend on the number of teams participating in leagues or tournaments.