New construction is set for Pine Township. Kids all around the area will be ecstatic with the opening of a new indoor sports complex. The intersection of Franklin and Warrendale roads will be sporting the new complex which is set for ground breaking soon.
Dave Gray, better known in the area as “Coach Dave” is partnering with locals Glenn and Carol Foglio in completion of the new sports complex. As a dream to always produce a sports complex in the area Gray is happy to find partners to help in this project. “But what were really want to do is get kids playing,” Gray said to In Pine-Richland.
The new complex will offer children and adults the opportunity to play a variety of sports, including basketball, flag football, volleyball and more.
Plans are also in the works to add a concession stand which can double as a host for wellness and nutritional seminars for the community.
Gray, a McCandless resident, has held youth sports programs in the Wexford area since 1996. His camps for outdoor sports attract up to 200 participants from across the Pittsburgh region are held at Blueberry Hill Park in Franklin Park, so the addition of this complex will bring comers into the area.
Operating under the name Coach Dave Gray, the new complex will focus their philosophy on life lessons including good sportsmanship, confidence and teamwork, can be found in playing sports.
The new complex will be a place where kids can have fun playing sports in a pressure-free environment, Gray said.
“There really is a need for parents to take their kids to an environment where they’re nurtured without the aggression and competiveness of some of the leagues and the schools,” he said to In Pine-Richland.
The new facility, which is located in a 6,000 square foot former warehouse once owned by Heurich Construction, would include a multi-purpose sports floor for basketball, football, deck hockey and other activities. The center is attempting to be as interchangeable as possible.
For the second phase of the project, the owners plan to add a large field house with turf flooring for baseball, soccer and lacrosse training.
Gray said he met his business partners after giving private individual sports skill lessons to Glenn Foglio’s sons.
While there is is plenty of demand in the area for recreational sports, there is limited space for where to practice them, he said. A proposal had to be sent in early on in the stages of this process that outlined the necessity of the complex.
“We reside in Pine Township in Woodside Estates and the feedback we already have received regarding the project from our immediate neighbors as well as friends and acquaintances within and around our school district, along with potential interested tenants, has been enormous, positive and really has people excited for such a place to be so readily available to their children,” the proposal said provided on the Pine Township municipal center website.
Pine Township planning officials are set to review plans for Sports and Courts at the June 10 planning commission meeting.
If the board recommends the plans, Sports and Courts will move before the Pine Township Supervisors for final approval at the June 17 meeting.
Gray said he hopes to have the complex open for business by mid to late August.