ROGERS — The Regional Sports Park officially opened Monday with play slated to begin on the ballfields this weekend.

Contractors and designers joined city and chamber officials in the quad area in the midst of four softball/baseball fields to cut the ribbon on the $6.7 million complex.

“All of you had some role to play in this project and future projects,” said Greg Hines, Rogers mayor. “Without a strong council we would not be where we are today. It wasn’t that long ago we were turning a shovel of dirt at the groundbreaking and now we have completed the first of a three-phase park improvement program.”

In addition to the sports park, the program includes the aquatic center — scheduled to open in May — restoration of Lake Atalanta and construction of new soccer fields.

The sports park is about more than increasing recreation activities in the city, it’s also an economic development project.

“We promised the residents, when we asked them to approve the extension of a 1 percent sales tax to allow us to sell $135.4 million in bonds, we would not only improve our recreation facilities, but improve our economic development,” Hines said.

There are 18 tournaments scheduled for the six fields in the sports park as of Monday, Hines said.

Softball and baseball tournaments are usually played on weekends and bring hundreds of players and their families for two to three days. Visitors often stay in local hotels, eat in the restaurants and shop in Rogers, said Allyson Twiggs Dyer, director of the Rogers Convention and Tourism Bureau.

“We have folks in town Monday through Thursday for business and conventions. The sports parks gives us the opportunity to bring in families on the weekend,” Dyer said.

Greg Lindley, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said park improvements will be a calling card for Rogers.

“These improvements will bring new people to our city over the years and are a welcome addition for the families and children who live in Rogers,” Lindley said.

“I think this is a great achievement for the youth and the adults of Rogers,” said Betsy Reithemeyer, Ward 4, Position 2 alderwoman. “The sports park will be part of our economic development. A facility of this quality is good not only for Rogers, but Northwest Arkansas as well.”

The first tournament scheduled in the new park, the 31st annual Snowball Classic, is set for this weekend.

“Right now we have 32 teams scheduled to play. I expect we will end up with about 40 to 44 teams by Wednesday,” said Rick Stocker, recreation director.

Rogers has the largest softball league in the state, Stocker said.

“We’ve had the largest softball league in the state for about 20 years, but this is the first time we’ve have the first-class facilities for our leagues,” Stocker said.