Ground has been broken on a US$23.5m (£16.5m, €20.8m) “high end” youth sports centre in Ohio which will include facilities and fields for several different sports.

The ambitious Cedar Point Sports Center – which will be built on the site of the old Griffing Sandusky Airport – will include nine multi-purpose synthetic turf fields, four National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) regulation baseball fields and a championship baseball and softball stadium.

Eight NCAA regulation soccer and lacrosse fields, training areas and a community use field will also make up part of the development, which is due to open in Q1 2017. Sports Force Parks will manage the facility.

Of the US$23.5m cost, US$17m (£11.9m, €15m) will come from a countrywide hotel bed tax generated by Erie County. Cedar Point is providing US$3.5m (£2.5m, €3.1m) with Sports Force has raised the remaining US$3m (£2.1m, €2.7m).

Jim Arnold, Sport Force director of business development, said the centre would be a “world-class destination for sports-focused families”, adding: “Our mission to combine sports, family and fun will bring young athletes and their families from across the country and provide them with the opportunity to combine a sports tournament with a family vacation.”

As well as the vast array of sporting facilities, the complex will also offer a great lawn promenade with miniature golf, a ropes adventure course, a bungee trampoline challenge and playground activities.