New indoor sports facility coming to Naperville
When the weather gets too cold this fall and the evening skies too dark, Naperville-area athletes will have a new place to play.
Naperville Yard, a 101,000-square-foot indoor sports facility, is scheduled to open in late October or early November, offering new space for several sports to be played out of the elements.
Owner Bill Gust said he's opening a second facility similar to the one he started in Westmont five years ago to meet demand for indoor practice and game space for lacrosse, soccer, football and more.
"I'm excited about the community here," Gust said. "We can draw from a lot of the surrounding communities, but we're also very excited about the Naperville community."
Naperville Yard is nearing completion at 1607 Legacy Circle in Naperville, near the intersection of Diehl Road and Freedom Drive just south of I-88. Gust said the new facility already has partnerships with athletic organizations including the Naperville Park District, Boom Football, Acceleration Sports Performance and New Wave Lacrosse.
"We've been waiting for something like that to open," said Paul Stolzer, one of the owners and directors of New Wave Lacrosse. "We really haven't had a good indoor facility in Naperville."
Naperville Yard will offer four main turf fields - two at 35 by 50 yards and two at 30 by 40 yards - as well as a speed and agility training center with a weight room, a plyometric floor, high-speed treadmills and a turf training area. On a second floor that spans half the building, the layout will include smaller turf fields for younger athletes and private training.
Stolzer said New Wave Lacrosse is looking forward to the versatility of spaces Naperville Yard will bring to the area.
"It has the flexibility to be either a very, very small field for individual or semiprivate lessons, and it has the ability to expand into a tournament-sized facility where we could have multiple games going on at the same time," Stolzer said.
While Naperville Yard will rent space to several sports clubs, it also will offer its own in-house leagues for indoor soccer and football, run by a staff of between 50 and 60 people Gust plans to hire soon.
The venue also offers an after-school sports program and a day care called Active Child Care, in which kids get to let off steam on the fields and explore a large play structure.
"It's going to be a unique and great day care for the area," Gust said.
For New Wave Lacrosse, which is centered in Naperville and draws players from about 50 high schools in the region, Naperville Yard will bring needed field space and convenience.
"It's absolutely very centralized," Stolzer said. "It's off the main highway, so it's going to be real accessible for people."