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The Group Travel Leader Going on Faith Select Traveler

Sports complexes score big for small towns

Courtesy Smithfield/Johnson County VB

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — The Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center has brought a number of sporting events to town since it opened a little over a year ago. The $13 million facility next to Smithfield/Selma High School can handle a variety of events, including swim meets; three-versus-three basketball; basketball, volleyball, racquetball and wrestling clinics and tournaments; training and clinics for coaches, umpires and referees; gymnastics; indoor soccer; wheelchair basketball; and winter baseball clinics.

The center has a double gymnasium, two racquetball courts, a multipurpose room, a track, a banquet room and a competition pool.

919-934-2148
www.sraconline.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Drury University opened the O’Reilly Family Event Center, a 3,100-seat arena, in October. The $13.5 million facility is home to men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. Built to meet, at minimum, Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) specifications, it also includes suites and a banquet room.

417-873-6381
www.drury.edu/oreilly

EUGENE, Ore. — The Matthew Knight Arena at the University of Oregon opened in mid-January, ushering in a new chapter in Duck basketball and volleyball. The $200 million arena also will be used for conferences, events and concerts.

It can seat up to 12,364 for basketball games and 12,784 for concerts. The building is being considered for LEED Gold certification; it wouldbe the first NCAA arena to earn that distinction.

541-346-4461
www.matthewknightarena.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An arena with seating for up to 6,500 patrons is expected to open late this year on the suburban campus of Onondaga Community College.

The SRC Arena and Events Center Complex will include a six-lane, 200-meter rubberized track; three basketball courts; a stage; and several multipurpose rooms. It is adjacent to a 2,000-seat outdoor turf stadium for soccer and lacrosse.

www.sunyocc.edu

VALLEY FORGE, Pa.—Two sports complexes have opened and another has been renovated in the Valley Forge area. In King of Prussia, Competitive Edge Sports opened a year ago with 40,000 square feet for basketball and volleyball and an SAQ (speed, agility and quickness) area. In December, the Suburban Sports Training Center opened in Conshohocken, offering soccer, flag football, lacrosse, dodgeball, kickball, baseball and softball training, and karate.  YSC Sports in Wayne, formerly Rocket Sports, focuses on soccer, with indoor and outdoor synthetic fields.

484-802-7585
www.cesports.net

610-909-9394
www.suburbansportstrainingcenter.com

484-995-5703
www.yscsports.com

RICHMOND, Va. — SportsQuest, a 250-acre sports complex, is being developed in phases over the next two years.

When it is completed, SportsQuest will have 17 turf fields with lights, a track and field stadium with 3,000 seats and a 2,000-seat amphitheater. In 2012, it will open a velodrome, an arena, retail shops and a family entertainment center with bowling lanes, laser tag, cyber sports courts and an arcade.

SportsQuest has already booked the 2011 USA Field Hockey Girls Club Championships and the 2011 Summer Shootout (boys’ lacrosse).

804-595-8437
www.sportsquest.biz

MERRIAM, Kan. — KC Stakepark, 10 minutes from Kansas City, is billing itself as the largest indoor skate park in the Midwest. It is expected to draw skateboard competitions to this Kansas City suburb.

913-262-1234
www.kcskatepark.com

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The $15 million Virginia Beach Field House opened last fall with state-of-the-art playing surfaces, meeting rooms and a full-service bar and grille.

The 175,000-square-foot facility has six turf fields, eight regulation volleyball courts, four basketball courts and multiple party rooms. It offers leagues in soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball, field hockey and lacrosse, as well as dodgeball, kickball and even cornhole. It will also host sports camps and clinics, tournaments, and meetings and special events.

757-427-3955
www.beachfieldhouse.com

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Sports complexes score big for small towns