 Hudson Valley Sportsdome manager Stephen Jennison and ceo/owner Marianne Buccellato |
It was the thought of setting up a training facility for track that actually served as the inspiration for the 92,000-square-foot facility, which will open this month. The couple, who have lived in Milton for 22 years, purchased a 47-acre parcel next to their home that had an 8,000-square-foot cold storage building on it. "Our daughter was a varsity track athlete at the time, and there really was no place for high school athletes to use to train," Buccellato recalls. After doing some research, they learned that "8,000 square feet is not very much space and the work we'd have to do to bring it up to code was way out of the realm of doing something nice for our kids."
Still, in the process of considering, then rejecting, building a 200-meter indoor track, Buccellato happened upon a realization—there was a tremendous need in the community for indoor fields for sports such as soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey. "We were very excited about bringing something to the Hudson Valley that doesn't exist now," she says. "We've come to learn why. It's not easy to stick with it, emotionally or financially. To bring a facility like this to fruition, you need tremendous support."
After hiring a consultant from Ohio to do a feasibility study and visiting similar facilities in seven states and Canada, the pair, who also own the Hollywood Window Company in Poughkeepsie, started by Buccellato's father, decided to pursue the process. They conducted traffic studies, had their loan guaranteed by the US Department of Agriculture, and qualified for tax abatements under the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency because of the tourism potential for the project. They also received a $75,000 grant through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to help offset the costs of insulating the 87,000-square-foot dome.
In addition to the dome, which is 65 feet high and measures 217 by 402 feet, the facility, valued at $2.4 million, includes a full concession stand, an arcade, a reception area, and a classroom to be used both for birthday parties and coaches' meetings. The field area itself is covered in artificial turf and will usually be divided into four quadrants, 90' by 182' (suitable for a six-on-six game of soccer), that can be rented for $160 an hour each.
 The Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton is an indoor, 92,000-square-foot multi-sport facility. |
According to Buccellato, the primary focus of the facility is soccer, both for youth and adults, and several leagues have already signed up either for practices or for playing time, including the East Hudson Youth Soccer League and the Hudson Valley Youth Soccer League. She has also been contacted by organizers of the Empire State Games, scheduled to be played in the area next summer, who are interested in using the facility for wrestling and judo matches. "We're not just limited to soccer," Buccellato adds. "There's lacrosse, field hockey, flag football. Softball and baseball can be played here in a modified form."
And, because of its size, the dome can also be used for trade shows, crafts fairs, and other expositions. Buccellato points out that organizers of radio-controlled racing events have expressed interest, as have those connected to whiffleball (a national sport, she says) and Ultimate Frisbee. An indoor golf driving range will also be set up. "Really the potential is unlimited," she says.
Because the closest other indoor facilities are in Albany, Mount Vernon, Brewster, and Rockland County, Buccellato notes that one asset for local athletes will be less of a need for travel, both for weekly play and for final events. "Soccer parents travel to Virginia and to Florida for tournaments," she points out. And, she adds, "there is no place on the East Coast that is comparable, in terms of size."
That could translate into a huge boon for the area in general, she emphasizes. "This is what these families do, they travel as a family to these tournaments. They are using local hotels and restaurants. They are buying gas at our service stations." And though the primary seasons for the Hudson Valley Sportsdome will be the fall and winter, it has the capability of being used on a year-round basis, including for camps in the summer. "There are a lot of possibilities," Buccellato says. "I don't think we know them all yet."
The Hudson Valley Sportsdome, which will be open from 8am to midnight, seven days a week, is located on Milton Turnpike in Milton. For more information, call (845) 795-5220, or visit www.hudsonvalleysportsdome.com.
The sections were unrolled and then all four pieces were attached together. Before it could be inflated, it needed to have cables placed over it to help to hold it down. "Forty people were walking down the field to straighten the cables out," Buccellato adds. Then, using only air power, the dome was aloft. "It inflated in an hour and a half," she says. The 87,000-square-foot dome was purchased from the Yeadon Company in Canada, where because of the weather, "there are a lot of domes," Buccellato points out. "There are only nine this size or larger in the US." For Buccellato, the fact that there were so many people willing to help (literally) get the dome off the ground was a testament to the amount of local support the project has generated. "It was the modern equivalent of a barn-raising," she adds. |
it took 50 volunteers almost a full weekend last month to assemble and inflate the integral portion of the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton. According to co-owner Marianne Buccellato, the air-support structure, or dome, arrived in four parcels, each piece of fire-retardant vinyl weighing 12,000 lbs. "Each bundle was literally the size of a truck," she notes.