An Indoor Glen Cove Sports Complex

This past Saturday, the Glen Cove Junior Soccer League concluded another great fall season with a successful Soccerfest, our annual intramural tournament. As a member of the board of directors of the soccer league for the past twelve years, I know how sports contribute to the development of our youth. I am also aware how sports can contribute to our local economy. Glen Cove has travel teams that venture all over Long Island, to other communities, to participate in sporting events. When at these other sports venues, our travel parents will spend money in those communities. As travel sports continuing to expand, we need to get more of the outside travel sports dollars into Glen Cove. In an effort to bring in travel sports dollars, I am in favor of a turf field at the city stadium for our soccer, football, lacrosse, and track teams to utilize. As an even bigger draw, an in-door sports facility will allow sports to be played all year and attract outside dollars into our local economy.

Glen Cove needs to have a new business; a business that will develop an indoor sports complex. Youth sports are big business. A new business that develops a new sports center for all sports (like basketball, soccer, softball, baseball, gymnastics) will draw outside sports leagues. An indoor sports center will see families coming to use the facility. Tournaments can bring players and parents from all over Long Island into our local economy. This new sports center should also develop an ice rink. Youth hockey programs continue to expand, but there are not enough ice rinks in our area. An ice rink in a Glen Cove sports complex would be utilized by more than just Nassau County. There are no other indoor multi-sport complexes close to our area. It is a resource that needs to be created because it would benefit our youth, but also because it is the type of business that will be profitable and bring revenue into Glen Cove.

The old Photocircuts facility on Sea Cliff Avenue is the best place for an in-door sport complex. The area is zoned for business. Route 106/107 and Glen Cove Avenue are direct routes to the area. The location is at the start of our town and the new traffic would not burden our neighborhoods. The proximity of the Cedar Swam Road businesses would benefit from the new commerce. The old contaminated Photocircuts site would not require a high degree of remediation as an in-door sports complex would cap the site and not need to meet a higher requirement of a housing development.

An indoor sports complex would bring in people into Glen Cove. These sporting families will bring new revenue to our city economy. An indoor sports complex would be a profitable business that would add to the economy of Glen Cove.