Sports

It’s no wonder that the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame calls Springfield, Missouri, home—we’re crazy about our sports! Enjoy professional baseball. Nationally ranked collegiate basketball. World-class golf courses. Exceptional spectator venues. And a multitude of recreational and competitive programs for children and adults. In fact, we’re ranked by Sports Illustrated magazine as one of America’s top sports towns. So whether you prefer to be in the game or just watch it, you’ll be right at home in Springfield.

• Professional Sports

  

  Springfield has a professional-level baseball team, as well as a professional tennis team.

  Our city is located near the epicenter of Missouri’s “Cardinal Nation,” and we wear our red loud and proud when cheering for our Springfield Cardinals, the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. From April through August, fans pack the 8,000-seat Hammons Field in the heart of downtown to watch these hot shot rookies work their way up to the big leagues.

  Across town, the Cooper Tennis Complex is home to the Springfield Lasers. The facility was the 2006 USTA Missouri Valley Section “Facility of the Year” and has hosted Fed Cup play, ATP and WTA professional tournaments, and numerous USTA programs. In the past 17 years, some of the greatest names in the game—including Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Andy Roddick, and Anna Kournikova—have displayed their skills at the complex.

• College Sports and Tournaments

  

  With an abundance of area colleges and universities, it’s only natural that Springfield offers a robust college sports scene. The 11,000-seat JQH arena, housed on the Missouri State University campus, is the home court for the great basketball tradition of the Bears and Lady Bears basketball teams, both regular contenders in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Drury Panthers men’s basketball team is the 2012/2013 NCAA Division II National Champion. And the Missouri State University Ice Bears Division II and Division III teams continue to set season attendance records at Mediacom Ice Park, considered one of the best facilities in the ACHA. Springfield is also home to the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, the number-one-attended high school basketball tournament in America.

• Recreational and Competitive Sports

  

  With many sports complexes and recreational centers throughout the city and neighboring communities, there are ample opportunities to get active with programs for softball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, flag football, swimming, disc golf, or just about anything else that qualifies as a sport.

  The Killian Sports Complex welcomes area softball teams with six lighted softball fields, concession stands, a physical fitness course, and a pavilion.

  Our Mediacom Ice Park offers year-round open skating as well as instructional skating and hockey programs for new and experienced skaters.

  And young athletes can benefit from our Community Olympic Development Program (CODP). Developed in collaboration with community partners and the United States Olympic Committee, it provides access to some of the best facilities, programs, coaches, and competition in order to enhance an athlete’s ability to compete in Olympic tennis, volleyball, ice hockey, or archery.

• Fitness

  

  From the heart healthy to fitness junkies, the Springfield region has a variety of options that promote wellness and a healthy lifestyle. Hot yoga to CrossFit. Marathons to obstacle races. Bike routes to triathlons. It’s easy to stay fit in Springfield! If the clinging of weights or group classes motivate you, options abound as the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, the regional YMCA, both of Springfield’s two major health care systems, and many of the surrounding cities’ community centers boast well-equipped fitness facilities.

  With at least one 5K run practically every weekend of the year, there are plenty of opportunities to walk for a cause or race for a personal best. Train up for the Bass Pro Conservation Marathon, the pinnacle of the month-long Outdoor Fitness Festival. Have some fun at the Color Run or Color Me Rad. And then hedge against a big holiday dinner with the Turkey Trot, the state’s largest Thanksgiving Day run. And if biking is more your pace, air up your tires and get yourself ready for the MS150 each fall or one of the summer triathlons in the region. Either way, training is made easy since our bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community has more than 60 miles of greenway trails and almost every road in Greene County is paved. You’ll have no excuse not to hit the ground running – or riding.

• Golf Courses

  

  If 18 holes are your idea of the perfect pastime, you’ll have lots of places to enjoy it in and around Springfield and nearby Branson. With dozens of public and private courses, including two championship courses, Highland Springs Country Club and Payne Stewart Golf Club, our area attracts golf enthusiasts and the pros themselves. Based upon the reviews of millions of monthly visitors, eight courses within the Springfield/Branson area rank in the top 20 Best Courses in Missouri according to Golf Link. Murder Rock Golf Club and Branson Creek Golf Course just outside of Branson rank in the top five in the state as rated by Golf Week magazine.