Q: WHEN WILL THE NEW FACILITY BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC?
A: The Nick hopes to open the doors to its new indoor facility by late spring/early summer 2026. In order to accomplish this, we must reach 100% of our fundraising goal by the end of 2024 so that construction can commence in the spring of 2025. Though this reflects the timeline supplied by our engineering team, we cannot guarantee this open date, as the open date is subject to construction progress.
Q: WHAT HOURS WILL THE NEW FACILITY BE OPEN?
A: To Be Determined. While our outdoor park can accommodate the public 24 hours a day, every day (except during a private event or function), the indoor facility will require a front desk staff member and have set operating hours. Additionally, there will be times when the facility will need to be closed to the public (ex. During a scheduled cleaning or private event)
Q: WILL THE NICK CHARGE LEAGUES TO USE THE NEW FACILITY, AND WHY?
A: Yes, since we are not funded by taxpayers, maintenance and improvements to the park facilities are supported through annual donations from individuals and businesses, grant funding, and nominal fees collected from leagues that regularly use The Nick. This has helped support our outdoor facility and will now help support our indoor facility.
Q: WILL I BE ABLE TO RENT THE NEW FACILITY FOR PRIVATE EVENTS?
A: Yes, if someone is interested in hosting a birthday party, family reunion, conference, wedding, or other event at any of The Nick’s spaces, we can work with you to make arrangements.
Q: WILL THERE BE A FEE TO USE THE INDOOR FACILITY?
A: While we love being able to provide individuals free access to our outdoor park, our indoor facility will need to operate with a different model. This is due to space constraints, increased operating costs, and the logistics of team usage. While we have not formalized a fee structure as of yet, we hope to block off times where facility use is free for our community members.
As with our current outdoor facility, if you are an organized sports group, organization, or individual looking to host an event or schedule field space, you will be required to provide an insurance certificate, sign a contract, and pay a user fee, depending on the use case.
Q: WILL THERE BE SPACE FOR SPECTATORS?
A: Yes! There will be space to view ground-floor sports from a glass-walled vestibule near the front of the building, in addition to surround overhead viewing from the suspended track above.
Q: I’M INTERESTED IN RUNNING A PROGRAM OR TEAM AT THE NICK. HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
A: Great! We love helping current programs expand, and providing the space for new programs to form. If you are interested in hosting a program, team, or event at the Nick, reach out to our facilities director and we will work out scheduling logistics. You don’t need to wait for the building to open before contacting us, as it will be helpful to know who is interested in using the space once open. Facilities Director: Jay Oulette (jay@thenick.org)
Q: HOW DOES AN INDIVIDUAL OR SMALL GROUP RESERVE SPACE TO PLAY IN THE NEW FACILITY?
A: We will be implementing new scheduling software to streamline facility space rentals. The exact details of reservations have not been finalized currently.
Q: WILL SCHOLARSHIPS BE AVAILABLE FOR YOUTH PROGRAMMING?
A: YES! Our Youth Assistance Scholarship Program (YAP) ensures that every child who wishes to play a team sport at The Nick has the opportunity, regardless of financial resources. This program currently covers player registration fees for baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, flag football, and track and field. It also covers the cost of equipment, such as cleats, helmets, gloves, uniforms, mouth guards, etc., for those who apply for equipment assistance.
Last year we granted over 50 scholarships to children who would have otherwise been denied the opportunity to play a sport. With the new indoor facility, we will not only be able to accommodate teams in the winter months, but will open up many new programmatic opportunities, from court sports and indoor field practices, to new programs such as martial arts, yoga, and non-sport activities. Once up and running, we hope to double the number of scholarships awarded to our community’s youth!
(Scholarships are distributed to qualifying families on a first-come, first-served basis. To build our YAP Endowment Fund and cover the annual costs associated with YAP, we raise between $5,000 and $10,000 each year. Since the implementation of YAP in 2010, we have been able to provide scholarships to every child whose family requested assistance. )
Q: WILL DOGS BE ALLOWED IN THE INDOOR FACILITY?
A: ONLY service dogs will be allowed inside. The indoor facility will not have the wide open space characteristic of our outdoor facility. There will be more noise, more balls, and visitors will be closer together. Additionally, there will be less overall airflow to protect those with animal allergies.