The Courthouse 618 Nears Opening at Plummer Family Park in Edwardsville

A major new indoor sports facility is nearing completion at Plummer Family Park in Edwardsville, adding another year-round component to one of the Metro East’s largest recreational complexes.

The Courthouse 618 is an approximately 50,000-square-foot indoor fieldhouse being constructed near the Goshen Road entrance of Plummer Family Park. The facility will include five high school regulation-size basketball courts that can be converted into nine volleyball courts, along with space for basketball training, volleyball, futsal, camps, open play, leagues and tournaments.

Construction has progressed quickly since the project broke ground in February, and the facility is now approaching its anticipated fall 2026 opening.

According to Courthouse 618 founder Mark Thomas, construction was running slightly ahead of schedule as of late August. Thomas told the Edwardsville Intelligencer that building construction was expected to be completed around September 22, followed by final equipment installation and other finishing work. At that time, he said the facility was fairly confident it could be fully operational by October 23.

That October 23 target was also identified as the opening date in a September 2026 Metro East Sports Podcast episode featuring Thomas. A separate formal grand-opening celebration could follow during the first or second week of November, although a final date had not yet been announced.

Five Basketball Courts and Nine Volleyball Courts Under One Roof

The scale and flexibility of the facility are among the biggest parts of the project.

The Courthouse 618 will contain five regulation-size high school basketball courts. Those courts can be configured into nine volleyball courts, allowing the building to accommodate multiple games, practices or training sessions simultaneously. The facility is also being designed to support futsal, camps, public training opportunities, open play and tournament activity.

Once open, The Courthouse 618 will become the new indoor home for the Edwardsville Parks & Recreation Department’s youth and adult basketball leagues. The City has also said the facility will provide public training and playing opportunities while creating additional capacity for tournaments.

For local athletes and families, the project creates a significant new indoor option within a park that has largely been built around outdoor sports.

Thomas has described the goal as creating an environment focused on developing multisport athletes rather than limiting the facility to a single sport. In an August update, he said the combination of different sports and training opportunities at Plummer Family Park made the location particularly well suited for that approach.

Shoot 360 Is Coming to Edwardsville

The facility will also be home to Shoot 360 Edwardsville, a technology-based basketball training concept that combines coaching with detailed performance tracking.

Shoot 360 uses technology to provide athletes with feedback on skills including shooting, passing and ball handling. Its training system can track shooting metrics such as arc, depth and alignment while allowing athletes to review statistics and progress over time.

The Edwardsville Shoot 360 location is listed at 3453 Sports Park Drive and is already promoting founding memberships ahead of opening. The local location's website also lists shooting evaluations, ball-handling analysis, coaching and individualized performance reports among its planned offerings.

Shoot 360 will operate as one component of the larger Courthouse 618 facility, adding a dedicated basketball development element alongside the full-size courts and broader recreational programming.

Events Are Already Beginning to Take Shape

Programming planned for the facility provides another indication of how The Courthouse 618 could be used once its doors open.

Elite FT has announced an Athletic Performance Camp at the facility beginning in November. The program is designed for athletes from a range of sports and focuses on areas including speed, power, explosiveness, coordination and movement. Elite FT has also announced futsal programming at The Courthouse 618.

Looking farther ahead, Gateway Rush has scheduled its Futsal Face Off for January 15 through January 17, 2027, at the Edwardsville facility. The event will bring competitive indoor futsal to the new fieldhouse over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Those programs show how the building can function beyond traditional basketball and volleyball leagues, particularly during colder months when outdoor sports facilities have fewer options.

Another Major Addition to Plummer Family Park

The Courthouse 618 is being added to a Plummer Family Park complex that has expanded substantially since its first phase opened in 2020.

The City of Edwardsville describes Plummer Family Park as an 83-acre sports complex on the eastern edge of the city near Interstate 55 and Governors Parkway. The park currently includes eight lighted turf baseball and softball fields, six multipurpose fields, four full-size baseball diamonds, six sand volleyball courts and 25 pickleball courts, including a championship court.

That gives Plummer Family Park a wide mix of outdoor sports infrastructure. The Courthouse 618 will add a substantial indoor component, allowing basketball, volleyball, futsal and athletic training to take place throughout the year.

City officials have also discussed the facility in the context of Edwardsville’s growing role as a regional sports destination. At the February groundbreaking, Edwardsville Economic and Community Development Director James Arnold pointed to the number of visitors already coming to Plummer Family Park and discussed the potential community and economic benefits of adding the new facility.

The project could complement existing tournament activity by giving organizers another type of venue within the same sports complex. The actual economic impact will depend on future programming, participation and tournament schedules, but the location provides an opportunity to bring additional athletes and families into Edwardsville throughout the year.

A Public-Private Partnership

The Courthouse 618 is being developed through a partnership between the City of Edwardsville and Courthouse 618 LLC, which is owned by Edwardsville native Mark Thomas.

The City is leasing land inside Plummer Family Park to Courthouse 618 LLC. Thomas is facilitating financing for the fieldhouse and the Shoot 360 franchise, while the City is constructing approximately 200 public parking spaces adjacent to the facility.

Contegra Construction Co. of Edwardsville is the contractor for the project, and First Mid Bank & Trust was identified by the City as the project’s financial institution.

The project was first publicly announced in April 2025, followed by a ceremonial groundbreaking on February 26, 2026. Foundation work began shortly afterward, and by late August the project had moved into its final construction stages.

Why the Name “Courthouse 618”?

The name has a local connection as well.

Thomas is an attorney who has practiced law for more than 20 years. He told the Intelligencer that the “Courthouse” portion of the name references his legal background, while “618” was included to give the facility a broader Southern Illinois and regional identity.

That regional focus aligns with the facility’s stated goal of serving athletes not only from Edwardsville, but from across the Metro East and Southern Illinois.

What Happens Next?

For now, the most important date to watch is October 23, 2026.

That is the current target for The Courthouse 618 to become fully operational, based on the latest public comments from Thomas and his September podcast appearance. Because the remaining work includes flooring, equipment installation and other final preparations, the date should still be viewed as a target until the facility formally confirms its opening.

A larger grand-opening event could then follow in early November.

Once complete, The Courthouse 618 will add five basketball courts, nine potential volleyball courts, futsal programming, Shoot 360 training and additional tournament capacity to an already extensive sports complex at Plummer Family Park.

For Edwardsville and the surrounding Metro East, it represents another investment in recreational infrastructure and another way for local athletes to train, compete and play closer to home.

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