(TheDomeSports.ca)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

athlete development

Sports dome to give local athletes more opportunity to improve at home

Jun 15, 2019 | 10:32 PM

A very large sports facility is set to take over the Gasoline Alley landscape.

The Dome Sports is constructing a 107,000 square foot — you guessed it — dome just off the east side of the QEII highway.

Once open in the fall, it will feature a full 11v11 soccer pitch with state-of-the-art turf material, a major league baseball infield, batting cages, a multi-purpose field, and a gym. Also planned are chiropractic and physio services in a separate building.

Noah Welch, a Massachusetts-born US hockey Olympian and former NHLer, now calls Red Deer home, and is general manager of the upstart company.

He says the facility will truly be a one-stop shop for athletes.

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“We’re catering towards primarily the non-winter sports and we do skill development, so that’s what we want to be known for at the grassroots level, with age-appropriate camps and clinics for young kids, introducing them to different sports for the first time, keeping it super fun,” Welch says.

“As they grow older and get drawn towards certain sports, and get better and better at them, we want to provide a facility where they can reach their max potential. What we have seen is that hockey is well-served here, but the non-winter sports are not.”

Welch adds this could be a chance to prevent young athletes from having to travel long distances for said training.

The Dome Sports received a development permit from Red Deer County last March.

A community day and grand opening will be held when the facility is ready to go.

More information is at TheDomeSports.ca.