At this time of year, teams are always looking for a place to practice inside.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a high school soccer team getting ready for the playoffs or a travel baseball squad looking to get out of the chilly fall weather, having an indoor environment with a little heat sure is a nice thing.
And with just about every team in the state seeking a warm and useful place to fine tune their skills, it’s not always easy or affordable to find a spot to go.
Just ask the powers that be at Seacoast Express. They’ve been dealing with this sort of issue for many moons – but not anymore.
The local soccer organization, a satellite club of Seacoast United, has 19 teams ranging from U8 to U18 for both boys and girls with players from Concord, Bow, Bishop Brady, Belmont, Gilford and Manchester Central among others, while offering programs for kids as young as 3 years old. So you can see how it would be hard to find indoor practice time for all those groups. That’s why Seacoast United decided to make a big investment in a facility in Concord.
“This gives us a place to play during the winter,” Bill Nardino, director for Seacoast Express and Concord girls varsity soccer coach. “We’ve always had to drive all over the state looking for turf.”
It converted a warehouse located at the Concord Center, 10 Ferry St., where Pitco (the frialator company) used to be, into a gigantic turf field ready for a wide range of sports that will soon be famously known as the Seacoast United Concord Indoor Sports Facility. It’s only a matter of time before SUCISF catches on.
“It’s a great location, right downtown,” Nardino said. “It will make life a lot easier. The location was key.”
Since it was a warehouse, it was a little on – let’s just say the disgusting side. So after cleaning up a bit, a brand new turf area – around 11,000 square feet of the green grass looking stuff filled with rubber pellets – was put down to make it an ideal place to play or practice.
But even though Seacoast Express is a soccer organization and will be using it for its teams practice and training purposes, this facility will also be available for other sports like baseball, softball, lacrosse, field hockey and flag football. All teams have to do is pay the rental fee, which ranges from $85 for half the field per hour to $150 per hour for the whole thing.
“We’ve gone to places where you’ll pay up to $500 for an hour,” he said.
For five years, the organization had been looking for the right location to make it worth the investment. It had to be big enough to fit a large soccer field and not have all those structural beams in the way. So when they finally found this spot, which they signed a long-term lease for, it only took a little over a month to get it ready for the public. There was an open house this past weekend, which doesn’t do you a whole lot of good, but don’t fret cause on Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., there will be a grand opening for anyone and everyone to check it out. And you might be a bit surprised that you’re standing on a concrete floor in a warehouse after the transformation.
“We needed something that was going to be large enough,” Nardino said. “We never really had a home.”
The turf can be used in a couple different ways. Like the gyms at most high schools, there’s a curtain that can be pulled across the area to cut it into two smaller fields for the littler kids or small practices, or when it’s high school teams, those other sports we mentioned or games, the space is more useful as one big field.
There will be stands on one side of the field, but people will be able to bring their camping chairs and stretch out on the sidelines as well just like they do outside although in a more temperature controlled environment. The Seacoast Express offices will be housed there, along with storage area for goals and other equipment.
“This will be the foundation for our youth leagues,” Nardino said. “And a nice advantage for our local teams.”
Starting Nov. 1, the facility will be home to mens, womens and coed leagues, as well as home games for Seacoast Express’s winter teams and for training.
If you’re interested in renting the space or have any questions, check the website, seacoastunitedexpress.org, or email Nardino at bnardino@seacoastunited.com.
