Indoor sports center gains local support

SCHUYLER COUNTY--As support from both the community and elected officials increase, the possibility that Schuyler County could be home to a multi-million dollar indoor sports complex. The project is currently in the exploratory phase with a feasibility study expected to be commissioned in the near future.
"In talking to people and following my own grandkids and the sports they play, you are traveling all the time... it's become evident that there is a need here," said County Legislator Phil Barnes. "We do an awful lot for tourism, but now it's time we do something for our own kids and our own future."
Barnes said that enthusiasm from fellow officials and the community is very high.
"It's something that everyone seems very interested in... (But) the legislature doesn't have anything to do with the feasibility study, it's just something we have to do," Barnes stated. "There is some economic development that the county has for special kinds of projects like this."
The end goal of the project could boost opportunities for area youth as well as be another draw to Schuyler County.
"This wouldn't just be something that would be there to cut down travel time for parents," Barnes added. "It would increase engagement and participation from local children and help keep them off the streets and out of trouble, boost tourism, provide an athletic outlet for adults and increase the health and safety for residents in the county."
To help get a feel for what the facility could look like, Barnes went on a tour of local indoor sports facilities in the region including Rochester.
"(If built) we would have space so that in the winter we would have indoor lacrosse, soccer and more," Barnes mentioned. "There would of course also be a state-of-the-art training facility and we have already received interest from local vendors in potentially setting up a little place inside where people can get food."
Currently being imagined as a not-for-profit, Barnes said any profits beyond operating costs would immediately be invested either in the community or at the facility.
"We have a lot of kids in the county with great potential for sports where parents can't afford the cost," Barnes said. "We will be there to support the kids who don't have the financial [means] and if we can turn around a kid with great potential and support them and help them stay on the right track, it would be a great thing."
Along with supporting the athletic endeavors of local youth, Barnes said the facility would also use excess funds to invest in expansions of both indoor and outdoor facilities.
"We could add basketball courts or baseball fields outside," Barnes added.
While excited for the project, Barnes also cautioned that a final site has yet to even be selected.
"We are still looking at several locations including property in Montour Falls, including one owned by the Welliver family," Barnes stated. "There has been a lot of interest from local businesses and landowners in participating."
Along with the feasibility study, key to a project of this scope is funding. Barnes said thousands of dollars have already been raised from individuals and businesses but for the project to truly move forward millions of dollars in grant money would have to be acquired.
"We have to make sure it's sustainable," Barnes explained. "The last thing is you want to put 12 million into a facility and in five years it's closed. You have to bring in good people who know how to generate interest and get the grants needed to pay for it."
Barnes said Hunt Engineers are already at work laying the very basic groundwork for the project to move forward.
"This is a great idea, and we are forming a board of directors that will include students from Schuyler high schools because this is a community effort," Barnes added. "This isn't just Watkins Glen or Montour this is Schuyler, a Schuyler Community Sports Complex."