The existing Sandhill Fields complex in Georgetown could soon be home to an indoor sports facility.
The current 56-acre complex located off of Sandhill Road and Route 9 opened in September 2020. It has eight outdoor fields where residents can play soccer, lacrosse and field hockey and other sports.
But Sussex Sports Center Foundation President Joe Schell says they want to add an indoor facility with pickleball courts and a turf field for indoor sports.
“People - it’s mainly parents of children in the various clubs, like the Henlopen Soccer Club for instance - said we need to have a place where our little guys (and gals) can develop some skills during the wintertime and get some exercise," Schell said. "So we thought about it and said well maybe we have room to fit in a fieldhouse.”
Schell says a capital campaign seeks to raise $6 million to build the 42-thousand-square-foot facility. That includes a $500,000 contingency to handle price uncertainties caused by current supply chain issues.
$4 million of that $6 million is expected to come from private financing. Schell says they’ve asked The Sussex County Council to kick in $1.5 million and are looking to the Town of Georgetown for support as well.
“And this would be yet another great thing for the economy for all the businesses in and around Georgetown," said Schell. "When people come, they go out to eat sometimes and that’s just a good thing for the Town.”
Schell adds that while Sussex Sports Center Foundation is impressed by the success of the D-E Turf Sports Complex in Frederica, they don’t see their facility trying to compete with that Kent County facility.
Construction could start in February or March and - if all goes as planned - the facility could open by December 2022 or January 2023.
