SportsPlex excitement growing

 

by Ryan Turczyniak

As St. Clair College’s new SportsPlex nears its completion, more students and staff are anticipating the grand opening.

The building is to include three basketball courts, a classroom, a fitness centre, locker rooms for each team, a concession stand and a first aid room. The building is scheduled to be completed March 31 and will host its first high school gymnastics tournament April 4.

“We are very excited,” said Robert Lynch, head coach of the St. Clair College men’s volleyball team. “With that (facility), we can host international matches with volleyball, basketball or whatever.”

The SportsPlex is being recognized nationwide for its new building and people from all over places wanting to come and play at the new facility.

“What it does for us is it puts us on the map,” said Lynch. “We’ve had kids come in from outside Windsor and outside Ontario, but now I’m getting calls from kids from B.C. I got another call from Saskatchewan and Alberta.”

Lynch said he’s excited about the opportunities once the facility opens.

“We’re also getting asked by NCAA teams, men’s volleyball teams if they can come up and play against us in the facility,” said Lynch.

It’s a massive complex, the ballpark cost is around $25-26 million.

“It’s nice to see it’s reality now,” said Jay Shewfelt, athletic coordinator at St. Clair College. “It’s a good feeling to say ‘hey it’s reality we’re moving in a month, month and a half’.

The SportsPlex is set to open to students and staff near the end of April or early May 2014.