A multi-functional sports complex, highlighted by a 2,500-seat arena for competitive track cycling, is being targeted for the shores of the Quinnipiac River in the Fair Haven section of the city.

The facility, to be called the Centric Sports and Cycling Center, would be the nation’s second indoor velodrome and house a professional World Cycling League franchise.

It would feature four other permanent venues under the same roof, all with spectator seating: BMX dirt racing tracks, hydraulic banked running track, multiple basketball courts and turf playing fields for soccer, football and field hockey.

A city-owned lot at 101 River Street, near the harbor with easy access to Interstates 95 and 91, has been designated as the site by New Haven Mayor Toni Harp. The hope is to revitalize a section of Fair Haven that’s nothing but empty or razed factories.

“We’re treading slowly to be sure we do everything right,” said Bill Dixon, co-founder of the not-for-profit group submitting the plan and New Haven’s deputy director of recreation. “It’s a big project. But we have some great people sitting behind us to ensure it’s done right.”

A fundraising campaign and official unveiling of the plans took place at Gateway Community College on Thursday evening. More than 75 percent of the $80 million needed for the project has been secured through various grants and private donations, Dixon said, with a target for breaking ground within two years.

The only indoor velodrome in the U.S. is in Carson, California. The proposed New Haven facility, with seating for 2,500, would play host to several World Cycling League events each year, with its own New Haven-based franchise.

Other events that will be pursued include professional BMX races – the course would feature bleacher seating for 2,500 – USA Track and Field competitions, high school and collegiate meets, recreational leagues, concerts and conventions.

Two full-length basketball courts with flexible seating has already drawn the interest of the Greater Hartford Pro-Am League, according to Dixon, who added Nike and Under Armour have been contacted about opening retail shops on the property. There’s also planned space for a food court.

Guilford’s Rick Mayer, a Yale graduate and director of the World Cycling League, and Hamden’s Sue D’Aniello founded the Everybody Rides Foundation in hopes of seeing an indoor velodrome come to New Haven.

Dixon, instrumental in construction of the Floyd Little Athletic Center on Sherman Parkway in 2002, came aboard two years ago and helped co-found the Everybody Plays Foundation. Other partners and co-founders of the foundation are Queen Smith, a teacher and administrator in the New Haven Board of Education, and New Haven’s Dwight Johnson, a small business owner and cycling enthusiast.

“We’re excited about it,” Dixon said. “When we built the field house, I knew there was something bigger that could be done. We just needed the land. The mayor designated the land to make this thing happen. I couldn’t be happier.”

 

Source : nhregister.com

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