HOLYOKE — The city of Holyoke has unveiled a first look at an ambitious $100 million project that would see the installation of a large sports complex spanning multiple locations across the city, hoping to capitalize on its history as the birthplace of volleyball to boost future economic growth.
Preliminary plans and renderings were presented at a news conference held Tuesday morning at the city's current International Volleyball Hall of Fame at 444 Dwight St., a location shared with the Children's Museum. The new project calls for the creation of a new building to house the Hall of Fame, along with 16 volleyball and basketball courts and the installation of other activities such as an arcade, bowling alley and climbing. A new hotel is also in the plans for a later phase of the project.
In total, more than 140,000 square feet of interior space will be used to house the complex, according to the city. This does not include additional spaces for outdoor activities and parking, the details of which are still being worked out.
The project is backed by Cesar Ruiz, a Holyoke native and the president and CEO of Golden Years Home Care in East Longmeadow, who has already invested $175,000 in the project, according to city officials.
At Tuesday's news conference, Ruiz said the complex will turn Holyoke into “the sports capital of New England.”
“We decided to approach this thing as an Olympic-style venue, with multiple sites throughout this community, using existing elements and new elements,” Ruiz said. “We will create a facility and a concept that will appeal not only to the youth but also to the elderly.”
Design plans for the complex are being executed by Sports Facility Companies of Clearwater, Fla. The organization's website lists more than 40 sports and recreation facilities it has helped build or manage over the years, in more than 20 states.
“They eat and breathe sports bands,” Ruiz said of the company. “They have been involved since February of last year, doing the feasibility study and planning this idea.”
Andrew Melendez, another city native and the founder and director of the Latino Economic Development Corp. in Springfield, was named the project's chief operating officer. Melendez noted that volleyball has surpassed sports such as basketball, baseball and American football in terms of its international popularity.
“A billion people play volleyball around the world,” Melendez said. “We want them to be proud when they walk into the sports complex in Holyoke, where they can be honored to receive induction into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.”
Melendez said the facility will employ 12 full-time and 30 part-time employees and the complex will have a $41 million annual economic impact on Holyoke. He also expressed a desire to create a memorandum of understanding with Holyoke Public Schools to allow area students to be educated at the center.
“I'm a Holyoker, born and raised, went to public schools, and I would love this opportunity to be a Holyoke Knight and be able to train and prepare at the athletic complex,” Melendez said, referring to the area's high school. mascot.
Holyoke Mayor Josh Garcia said the city was trying to find additional stakeholders for the proposed complex to secure financing and that a final design has not yet been reached.
“We still have more work to do,” Garcia said. “The biggest benefit behind this initiative is that we have a private interest from someone who has their own capital.”
Although locations for the complex area have not yet been announced, areas of interest include above the city near Interstates 90 and 91, along with additional locations downtown and within the city's public parks, according to Aaron Vega, director of planning and economic development of the city.
“We want to make some of these easily accessible for groups from the area and out of state,” Vega said. “We will be looking at the city center and we have a couple of locations that we are looking at. This would be more of a facility that can be more about entertainment that would be a compliment to the big facilities.”
The project will take place in several phases, with the first phase — construction of the new hall of fame and outdoor sports facilities — expected to cost between $50 million and $65 million and be completed by the end of 2026. Overall, the project will it will take five to six years to complete, according to Vega.
Volleyball was invented in Holyoke in 1895 by William G. Morgan, director of physical education at the local YMCA. The city's International Volleyball Hall of Fame currently has over 160 inductees from 25 different countries.
Alexander MacDougall can be contacted at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.
