Pine supervisors discuss options for indoor athletic space

Additional space for indoor athletics in Pine could come with an inflatable dome.

That was the consensus among township supervisors during their April 3 meeting, when they discussed various options to provide facilities for year-round recreational activity, and their preferred location would be within the 105 acre of Pine Community Park.

Municipal staff members are researching how best to proceed in planning for an area that likely would feature an artificial-turf field, allowing for the likes of large group-fitness sessions, practice for sports teams and training for athletes.

“There are really four ways that we could approach this, and I wanted to just get some feedback from the board,” township manager Jason Kratsas told supervisors, including a dome that could be deflated and removed with the onset of warmer weather.

“A lot of communities are doing this. Cranberry Township just put one up for their indoor pickleball activities,” he said, referring to the inflatable system installed in the fall at Graham Park’s UPMC Passavant Sportsplex.

Another option he presented is expanding Pine Community Center.

“You can create an indoor space about 25 to 30 yards in width and by about 60 to 70 yards in length,” Kratsas said.

He cited drawbacks including an influx of vehicles — “Our parking lot would get overwhelmed” — and the cost of such a project.

“We would want something to match the architectural integrity of this building,” he said. “Of all the four options, it’s probably the most expensive way to attack it.”

Other possibilities are constructing a permanent edifice in the community park or finding an alternative location for a facility. Kratsas pointed out that the park has the advantage of existing amenities such as utilities, restrooms and spaces for vehicles.

“If we would go offsite with something, you would have the need to create those infrastructure pieces,” he said.

Situating an inflatable dome in the park would require the operation of air blowers, to be placed in a channel on the perimeter of the apparatus.

“In the summer months, when you didn’t have it up, you would have another turf field with a concrete surround,” Kratsas said.

He estimated the cost of either a dome or permanent building to be about half of adding onto the community center, although he mentioned no specific numbers, stressing that discussion is in the preliminary stages.

Next steps, he said, include consulting with experts on the logistics of inflatable systems, compiling information about operations and staffing, and to “really start developing a concept.”