New indoor sports center boasts 45,000 feet of turf

Two indoor soccer fields - each 86 feet by 186 feet - means the newly opened Rising Stars Sports Center boasts as much as 45,000 square feet of turf.

About 700 people showed up Sunday for the center's grand opening on Route 233 in Westmoreland - near the middle school.

The $2.2 million project includes almost 200,000 pounds of rubber in the turf, which is also available for football, field hockey, baseball and lacrosse, said Frank Conestabile, president of the Rising Stars Soccer Club of Central New York, the nonprofit behind the facility.

Tired out from playing soccer in Westmoreland then running around the sports center for hours during the grand opening Sunday, 11-year-old Matthew Milograno of Marcy plopped on the facility's turf. He rolled to his back, spread out his arms and legs and looked up at the grayish-white ceiling, brown arches and bright lights.

"It's very large," he said.

The facility is available for games, practices and parties and there are hopes to rent it to colleges and use it and the 3.5-mile nature trail by it for a senior walking program, Conestabile said.

"It's all about the kids though," he said. "We did this for the kids."

The Westmoreland school district gave the soccer club the 26 acres of land. The dis

trict will receive 100 hours of free use of the facility in return.

The land donation combined with other donations and fundraisers to total about $500,000, Conestabile said. The other approximately $1.7 million came from a loan, which was backed by the government, he said.

Conestabile expects that people from all over the area including Syracuse will use the facility, he said.

"This is something this area hasn't had," he said.

Roy and Tammy Roorda of Herkimer drove to the opening with their daughter after she played a soccer game Sunday.

"It's nice that you have a facility like this where you can keep soccer going all year round," Tammy Roorda said.

Dominick Celia, vice president of Celia Construction, which worked on the facility, said the area and local kids needed something like the center.

"Oh, they love it," he said. "You can't get them off it."

His daughter, Racheal Celia, 10, talked with excitement about the building.

"It's a great place to play, that's for sure," she said.

Dominick Celia's niece, Nicolette Celia, 13, also spoke of the facility with enthusiasm.

"I love this place," she said. "It's awesome."

As a nonprofit, the club will use all money earned above expenses for other opportunities for children. Conestabile hopes to eventually give out scholarships and host professional clinics for kids, he said.

"We're excited about it," he said.