Situated in central Kansas, Salina is a convenient destination for teams, athletes, staff and fans. On top of its ideal location, Salina offers the perfect mix of small town charm with big-city amenities, including state-of-the-art athletic facilities that can handle events large and small. Throw in some family friendly attractions, cultural events, delicious cuisine and comfortable accommodations, and you have the makings for a great sports event destination. Plus, the Visit Salina teams welcomes visitors with open arms, and is there to help make your Salina sports event a huge success.
CVB/Sports Commission Services Offered
- Site Visits
- Mobile Apps
- Lodging Services
- Special Activities Preparation
- Welcome Bags/Gifts
- Volunteer Staff
- PR/Media Assistance
- Signage
- Itinerary Development
- Event Planning Assistance
- Hotel Bid Requests
- Transportation Assistance
- Midwestern Hospitality
Click on tab to see more information about a specific facility
- Tony’s Pizza Events Center
- Salina Fieldhouse
- Dean Evans Stadium
- Bill Burke Park
- Salina Stadium
- Salina Soccer Complex
- KWU-Graves Family Sports Complex and Mabee Arena
Tony’s Pizza Events Center
Nicknamed Mid America’s Meeting Place, Tony’s pizza Events Center is a multi-purpose facility that hosts a variety of sports events throughout the year. The Center is home to the Salina Liberty Indoor Football Team, Salina Sirens Roller Derby Team and the Salina Saints WBCA Basketball Team. In January, the venue hosts the Kansas Kids Wrestling Tournament of Champions, and holds the KSHSAA State Championships in wrestling, basketball and volleyball. The facility’s 30,000-square-foot arena can accommodate over 6,500 spectators. The 20,000-square-foot Heritage Hall offers a column free space that can be halved or quartered to the needed specifications, offering another area for events that can accommodate more than 2,000 people.
Sports: Basketball, volleyball, wrestling, indoor football, roller derby
Salina Fieldhouse
The newest addition to the Salina area sports facilities, the Salina Fieldhouse was completed in July 2017. The 68,500-square-foot indoor sports venue features several multi-purpose surfaces, allowing a range of events to be held here. The fieldhouse hosts multiple MAYB tournaments, HOA volleyball tournaments and even an 8 & under indoor fast pitch tournament. Throughout the year the facility also host local league play, tournaments, camps, clinics and team practices for a range of sports. The venue features six basketball courts that can be cross lined to create eight volleyball courts, one indoor regulation or three small sided soccer fields. There are also drop-down batting and pitching tunnels as well as golf netting.
Sports: Basketball, volleyball, soccer, dodgeball, dance, cheerleading
Dean Evans Stadium
Salina’s premier baseball venue, Dean Evans Stadium is a popular facility for baseball teams around the area. The stadium hosts events and teams including the Salina Shock collegiate league, Kansas Wesleyan University and the KSHSAA 4A State Baseball Championship. It welcomed the Kansas Grand Slam Tournament just this past June. The facility features a covered stadium with seating for roughly 800 spectators.
Sports: Baseball
Bill Burke Park
Considered Salina’s main facility for youth baseball and softball, Bill Burke Park can easily accommodate sports events large and small. It’s the host of the Kansas USA Softball Summer Blast Series and the KSHSAA 4A State Softball Championships, as well as many other local and regional competitions. The venue has eight baseball/softball diamonds, five of which are lighted. The complex also features open grass multi-purpose fields used for soccer and football practices. Players, coaches and fans will also enjoy a playground, biking/jogging paths, picnic shelters with grills and concessions.
Sports: Baseball, softball, soccer, football
Salina Soccer Complex
Located near Dean Evans Stadium and Bill Burke Park, Salina Soccer Complex is a premier soccer facility. The complex features five full-sized regulation lighted fields. Two Salina SculptureTour pieces are displayed near the entrance of the park. The artwork portrays action highlights of youth soccer and serves as a compliment to the beautiful aesthetics of the park.
It is home to local leagues and camps.
Sports: Soccer
KWU-Graves Family Sports Complex and Mabee Arena
Located on the Kansas Wesleyan University campus, The Graves Family Sports Complex was completed back in 2015. It’s home to the university’s football, soccer and track teams. The complex includes Bissell Field, a 2,000-seat stadium with a complete track, practice fields and tennis courts. The Mabee Arena, located in the Student Activities Center, has seating capacity for 1,500 and is home to the basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cheer and dance teams. It has hosted several KCAC post-season and championship events.
Sports: Soccer, football, track & field, basketball, volleyball, dance, cheerleading
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Things to do in Salina
Salina has a population of just under 50,000, and while not considered a big city there’s so much to see and do here, you’ll feel like you’re in a bustling metropolis.
Grab the whole family and head to Rolling Hills Zoo, where you can discover some incredible species. Take an interactive tour around the world in the 64,000-square-foot museum, which highlights seven unique regions. Stroll through the rest of the zoo and check out the 350 animals that live there, many endangered and exotic, from aardvarks to wolves.
Learn the history of the Smoky Hills regions through photos, artifacts, and engaging exhibits including a sod house, tornado simulator, and old time radio studio all at the Smoky Hill Museum. Visitors with little ones shouldn’t miss The Curiosity Shop, the interactive children’s area which features four thematic areas: Kansas Weather, Town Building, The World of Radio and The Dirty ‘30s.
Under going a $165 Million renovation, you’ll definitely want to treasure hunt in downtown where you’ll find SculptureTour Salina, presenting a collection of sculptures loaned from artists, which change every May. Catch a rock concert or classical music performance at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts or enjoy a comedy or drama production from Salina Community Theatre. Downtown Salina also features antique and collectible shops, an Art Center & Cinema, and excellent places to eat.
Cool off with some surf and fun at Kenwood Cove Aquatic Park, Salina’s largest water park, featuring a zero entry wave pool, great kid area, lazy river and over 1,400 feet of slides–attractions the whole family will love.
Planner Perspective
“The KSHSAA hosts state championships for football, volleyball, wrestling, basketball, baseball and softball in Salina at their many great facilities. The geographical location of Salina is very convenient for the people who attend our events but that is secondary to the people that we work with to help host our events. The Midwest hospitality throughout the town is what people will remember most. Salina has countless amenities to offer and shows continued dedication to offering more with the many developments planned and currently taking place.”
KSHSAA: Jeremy Holaday (Assistant Executive Director)
“Sky Gymnastics, formerly Xtreme Gymnastics, hosted their annual Winter Wonderland competition last January at the Salina Fieldhouse. We also hosted the 2019 AAU Missouri Valley District Championships in April. Between the two events, we had over 1000 competitors. The Salina Fieldhouse has an amazing facility that accommodates everything we could need or want!”
GM Sky Gymnastics: Sheena Torrez (Coach)
“It’s been our goal over the years to grow this tournament, and we’re excited that we’re seeing that growth. Not only Kansas teams, but also teams from MO, IA and NE are participating. Our tournament is as big as a “Metro” tournament, and we’re starting to get noticed by other USA organizations. As it should be, this will place Salina on the map. Salina has great hotels, restaurants, shops attractions and of course people that support us. We like working with Salina Parks & Recreation, Optimists Club, local KS ASA umpires and Visit Salina staff. We feel our relationship in Salina is strong and we’d like to continue to grow the Salina tournaments.”
KS ASA/USA Softball: Chuck Vogan (Tournament Director)
How to Get to Salina
Salina welcomes sports teams from all over the country with open arms, showing them true Midwestern hospitality. Located at the crossroads of I-70 and I-135, Salina is practically in the middle of everything, making it super easy to reach from pretty much anywhere.
By Car: Salina is located in central Kansas, and less than a day’s drive from a majority of the country. Some major cities that are less than five hours away include Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Tulsa and Wichita.
By Air: The Salina Regional Airport is the closest to the city and offers daily flights to and from Denver International Airport (DIA) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The Dwight D. Eisenhower Airport (ICT) is located in Wichita, just over an hour away. Kansas City International Airport (KCI) is located just 3 hours east of Salina.
Salina offers a public fixed route bus system. CityGO runs Monday through Saturday with stops throughout the community.
Contact Information
Company Name: Visit Salina / Salina Area Chamber of Commerce
Sports Sales Manager: Tiffany Benien
Title: Sports & Special Events Manager
Telephone: 785-827-9310 x130
