Growing need for sports facilities to be addressed in York County
YORK, Pa. (WHTM) — Finding space for youth sports is becoming more difficult according to parents and coaches in York County.
“People are traveling to Harrisburg and Maryland for practices,” said York County mom Brandy Shope.
With the high demand on school facilities, many youth programs are leaving the area to find courts and fields to play and practice.
“The fact is our people are leaving and they feel like they don’t have the facilities to be able to accomplish their high level goals,” said AAU coach James Brooks.
It’s a problem Inch & Co. owner John Inch recognized with his own four kids, and now he wants to address it.
“We’ve seen a need over the last 10-11 years in York specifically,” Inch said. “There’s not a way to get transportation for kids to go from York to Lancaster, which is the next closest sports facility to be used. And the school districts are really oversaturated with the amount of gym space. So a lot of kids get left out.”
So his company Inch & Co. is about to break ground on an indoor sports complex to address this growing need.
“We’ve had hundreds of organizations reach out and say they could take more kids and expand their programs if they had the space,” Inch said. “They don’t have the turf space; they don’t have the gym space. It really hit me this year coaching my son’s youth team when we try to find gym space everywhere, and all of [the facilities] were pretty much full.”
The York County complex is positioned to be close to downtown and focused on multi-use sports facilities. The preliminary plan details a 250,000 square foot center with a turf field and indoor courts.
“With the new facility being built, it’s going to give more people an opportunity,” Brooks said.
For area parents and coaches, the investment in their kids is more than welcomed.
“When you have little kids and you’re trying to get them into multiple places, plus school and getting them home for a healthy bedtime, it’s important to have some more local facilities,” Shope said.
The facility plans to break ground this spring.
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