PALM BEACH GARDENS – The state-of-the-art sports complex planned for The Gardens North County District Park is one step closer to becoming a reality today with the County’s approval of a lease agreement between the City of Palm Beach Gardens and the Palm Beach North Athletic Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization. Palm Beach Gardens approved a lease with the Foundation in October of 2019 for use of 17 acres in the park, and today the Palm Beach County Commission approved the lease agreement, with a vote of 7 to 0.
The Foundation is developing a 200,000+ square foot, two-story indoor sportsplex that will offer a variety of sports amenities, including ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, pickleball, squash, fitness classes, children’s sport camps, an indoor jogging track, gymnastics, rock climbing, agility training, dance, ice skating, and indoor golf, plus a restaurant. This will be the first facility to bring youth ice sports and squash programs to our area.
The Palm Beach Gardens-based Foundation is raising funds to build the $43 million facility, and will design, construct, operate and maintain the PBN Sportsplex as a nonprofit. It will be open to the public, providing sports experiences to people from all walks of life, including those who have little opportunity to experience many of the sports activities this facility will offer, including collegiate sports training.
The Foundation was co-founded in 2017 by Michael Winter, Russell Dise and BrianDuncan. The Board and supporters of the state-of-the-art facility include a who’s who of community and business leaders, as well as a host of star athletes and former Olympians. They envision the PBN Sportsplex as a unique community recreation center and gathering place that will provide access to sports and activities not previously available in the area.
In January 2020, the PBN Sportsplex partnered with New York-based Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), ranked number one in orthopedics in the nation for the past 10 years by U.S. News & World Report. HSS, which just opened a 60,000 square foot facility in West Palm Beach, announced it is the official hospital for the PBN Sportsplex and will provide education and care to support wellness, performance, injury prevention and treatment when necessary, with access to top HSS specialists.
“This Sportsplex will offer our community sports and activities that are needed but have not been readily available. Sports can change lives, especially for our youth. This outstanding facility will open doors for so many young people who would otherwise not be exposed to these life-changing opportunities. The PBN Sportsplex will also offer a wide variety of health and wellness programs.” said Tucker Frederickson, former New York Giants running back, who serves on the Foundation’s Sports Advisory Council.
“With the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus, we recognize these are unusual times. We know the power of sports and community will continue to be important in the lives of our community members, and we applaud the County for continuing to move this important project forward.” said Mike Winter, PBNAF President.
For more information, contact:
Martina Brief
561-623-5326
martina@pbnaf.org
Or
Michaela Kennedy
PBNAF Capital Campaign Director
631-786-1362
michaela@pbnaf.org