New Hagerstown Field House celebrated at grand opening

February 20, 2025

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (The Herald-Mail) —

As Hagerstown Councilman Kristin Aleshire addressed those at the Hagerstown Field House’s grand opening on Tuesday, he got emotional reflecting about coaches from his youth.

There was “Coach K” for basketball at the old YMCA; Dale Copeland, who became president of the Hagerstown Area Youth Soccer League (HAYSL), and Aleshire’s father, Rick, who co-founded, with Rudy Krumpe, the Hagerstown Soccer Club, a travel club.

“The stories those parents and kids could tell would fill this room to the ceiling. I simply planted the seed of that dream and quietly stood back in anticipation as so many hands in this room, much more capable than mine, tirelessly nurtured this facility into being,” Aleshire said during the event in the Field House lobby.

Aleshire referenced Gov. Wes Moore reportedly telling his son, upon Moore’s successful election, that he would never be in a room he didn’t belong in. The long-term councilman said, while not exactly the same, that phrase resonated with his own father reminding him “at every step and every sport along the way” that he was never on a court that he didn’t belong on.

Alehire said he wants his dad, like all the other coaches and parents too many to mention, to know that “we were watching, we were listening and we were learning.”

“This place is the result of that investment, and every kid that will pass through its doors will never be on a court or a field they don’t belong on,” Aleshire said.

The field house was built on the site of the former Municipal Stadium at the corner of East Memorial Boulevard and Eastern Boulevard South. It opened on Feb. 1.

A public open house will be held this Saturday, starting at 9 a.m., with various activities.

The city owns the facility and has a 20-year lease with ESM Hagerstown LLC, part of Eastern Sports Management, to operate and maintain the Field House.

City officials’ latest estimated cost for the field house is $26.2 million to $26.5 million, with the final costs being tallied, City Engineer Jim Bender said Wednesday in an email. Those costs include building and site construction, sports equipment, Eastern Sports Management’s construction management costs and preliminary work such as market research, conceptual design and final building and site design.

Waynesboro Construction was the general contractor for the project. Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, of McLean, Va., did the architectural work.

The indoor sports facility has two indoor turf fields and four basketball courts, which can be converted to eight volleyball courts. There are several multipurpose rooms that can be rented for events.

Field House General Manager Julie Redding said pickleball courts could be ready by next week.

Positive reviews in first few weeks

During some of the speeches Tuesday, the sound of a basketball bouncing on a nearby hard court could be heard as a few men shot hoops while the courts weren’t booked for league games.

Friends Temple Chike and Peter Ciardiello, both 18 and from Hagerstown, said they were at the Field House for the first time Tuesday, dropping in to shoot hoops after class at Hagerstown Community College.

Chike said the facility is “amazing.” Both said they plan to return.

Amen Ryals, 68, of Hagerstown, said the Field House is a beautiful facility. He said he thought the design could have been configured to fit more basketball courts and hopes the facility will maintain time for “locals” to drop in rather than getting too booked with bigger events.

Eastern Sports Management President John Wack said Wednesday that there will always be “drop-in” time, though the schedule for it might vary. Some ESM facilities have dedicated time for pick-up games, and that could occur here at some point.

Redding said on Tuesday that, as of the grand opening, the Field House had about 131 fitness memberships and about 100 sport court memberships.

The Field House is continuing, through February, to waive the one-time $75 enrollment fee to buy a fitness membership, she said.

There’s no enrollment fee for the sport court memberships, which allow people to come in and use the courts or fields when they are available. Sport court memberships cost $15 a month and are an alternative to the $5 fee charged for each time a person just drops in to use the courts or fields, Redding said.

Fitness memberships range from $25 a month for ages 11 to 15, to $115 a month for a family of six with up to two adults. Fitness memberships come with the opportunities to use courts and fields when they are available, Redding said.

Dan Spedden, president and CEO of Visit Hagerstown, said the Maryland Sports Commission will host a symposium in March at the Field House with youth tournament organizers from the Tri-State area to help Eastern Sports Management sell the facility’s use for events.

Officials speaking at the grand opening remarked about the impact the facility could have on tourism and economic development.

Redding said said the Field House has already hosted three events, bringing in more than 3,000 visitors in three weekends for basketball and gymnastics tournaments and a jiu jitsu event.

“For those of you who had any doubt, congratulations because this is already a tremendous success,” Redding said.

A brief history of how the Field House came to be

Aleshire, after the ceremony, said he suggested the idea of an indoor sports facility at the Municipal Stadium site in 2012, when Bruce Quinn considered moving the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball team from Hagerstown.

Rather than having local families travel outside of Washington County for tournaments and events, such a facility could be built on land the city already owned and host events here, he said.

The city’s golf course was briefly considered a site for the indoor sports complex, before the concept moved back to the Municipal Stadium land. The Suns were a victim of Minor League Baseball contraction, holding their last season in 2019. The 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic.

Keeping the golf course and building the Field House adds to the sports-related offerings for folks coming west on Dual Highway and approaching Cleveland Avenue, Aleshire said. They can turn right to go to the golf course or Fairgrounds Park, where the ice rink is, or they can turn left and go to the Field House.

Aleshire said he brought his sons to the Field House last week for the first time. At first they weren’t excited about the excursion, but after getting here and playing basketball they were upset when it was time to leave, he said.

“Now they want to be here,” Aleshire said.

Aleshire said the Field House is “exactly what I envisioned.”

Both he and his father remarked how the layout is not as tight and constrictive as some other indoor sports facilities. There are central gathering spots, including in the lobby and cafe.

Parents can work out in the second-floor fitness center and, from that mezzanine, watch their children below on the turf fields or hard courts.

Rick Aleshire said he also likes how the turf fields have 8-foot high window walls at the perimeter of the fields so play can continue if the ball hits the wall.