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A Beacon of Boro Pride.
A Beacon of Boro Pride.
The Willingboro School District has a robust history of success in track and field and that success is a point of Boro pride. Through a referendum, the district has a unique opportunity to build an Indoor Track and Basketball Complex that would pay homage to our community’s storied tradition and become a premier destination for indoor track competitions.
A separate, smaller building would be built for two indoor basketball courts. The lobby connecting the track and courts would have restrooms, locker rooms and an athletic trainer’s room.
Question 2 on the ballot proposes an $18.2 million investment for this complex.
Few venues in New Jersey are designed and available for high school and college indoor track competitions. The nearest is in Toms River, about an hour’s drive from Willingboro. It attracts people from much of the state, and rentals and sponsorships generate significant revenue for its owners. That has a flat track; teams travel to the Bronx and Staten Island for the kind of banked track athletes prefer for optimal time results.
Just like the University of Pennsylvania is known for its annual relay event, Willingboro could leverage its history to develop a signature event for the future.
An indoor track in Willingboro would be ideally located to serve the western part of the state because of its convenience to Interstate 295 and the New Jersey Turnpike. Voter approval would provide funding for construction. The facility would be managed as a revenue-generating resource for the school district.
Reimagining an unused field.
An ideal location for the indoor track and basketball complex is on Windover Lane, next to the district’s Country Club Administration Building and behind existing outdoor basketball courts and swimming pool, both of which would remain. With 8.73 acres available, there is plenty of room for the indoor track and basketball complex and additional space for a planned about 320 parking spaces for cars and another 14 spaces sized for buses.
The complex would be constructed to provide a buffer area between the facility and residential neighbors. It could house a “wall of fame” that reminds all visitors of Willingboro’s marks in history.
A six-lane, 200-meter banked track.
Indoor tracks are about half the size of outdoor tracks and the curves of the track are sloped (banked) to counter the centrical force of runners as they round the shorter curves.
This would be the first banked track in New Jersey.
In addition to the banked track, there would be a straight, eight-lane track in the center of the facility for sprints, such as the 60-meter, and a section on the outside of the banked track where runners can warm up for events.
Field events could be held in designated areas for the long jump and triple jump and for the pole vault.
For spectators, there would be bleachers to accommodate about 1,100 people with clear sightlines of the entire track and field area.
The building would be about 62,000 square feet and be designed inside and out to meet current standards for barrier-free accessibility.
Two full-size basketball courts.
It would share a lobby with the track section, allowing efficient use of interior restrooms and lockers, and exterior parking and sidewalks.
There are few indoor basketball courts in the community that can be used for tournaments or leagues. The complex would address a community need and could also be set up for other purposes, such as volleyball tournaments or graduation ceremonies.
Storage cabinets would be built along one wall and several rows of bleachers would be installed along another.
At nearly 12,500 square feet, this building could host teams and up to 140 spectators.
During large-scale track meets, the basketball wing of the building could be used as a set-up and meeting area for participating teams.
Future revenue to fuel the instructional program.
The district projects that the indoor track would generate significant revenue for the school district through rental fees and sponsorships. Profit could be used to support the instructional program – especially important as federal funds have been reduced.
In addition, the complex could have a positive economic impact on Willingboro businesses by attracting visitors from throughout the state and region to the community for competitions.
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