BRICK – Construction on the new sports complex is well underway after breaking ground in June. The privately owned facility is being built on property many people call “the former Foodtown site,” on Route 70, which was demolished some 15 years ago.
According to spokesperson for the developer, LCP Sports II Urban Renewal, Abe Septon, the square footage of the facility measures some 135,000 square feet and is fully climate-controlled.
Superdome Sports has a total of five indoor sports facilities in New Jersey, with the Brick complex and one of the two Waldwick complexes being the largest. The other facilities are in Northvale and Fair Lawn.
Plans for the sports complex started out as a dome when it was approved by the Planning Board in March of 2029. The layout included a 75,000 square-foot dome fronted by two additional buildings housing a daycare center, basketball courts and offices.
The plan was altered due to fire code compliance, so the developer looked at a variety of options and decided to remove the spacing between the buildings and combine the three structures into a solid, full-metal single building.
In a phone interview, Septon called the new design, “a blessing in disguise since this is a much more superior product than the dome. It took a lot of planning, a lot of engineering, and a lot of architectural design that went into it. We didn’t want to start anything until we were ready to go, fully.”
Plans call for some 7,000 to 8,000 square feet of indoor turf area for local club teams and where high school teams could train on a weekly basis, he said. There will also be four full-size basketball courts which will be doubly utilized as six volleyball courts and 12 pickleball courts.
“There is a front building, which has ground floor retail, and the main entrance as a totally second floor that is going to be recreational play, so you could have more court space, host birthday parties, arcades, stuff like that,” he said.
Asked about delays or construction challenges, Septon said that since the beginning of construction to where it is now, “it’s been relatively smooth…the township has been really helpful.
“Starting construction, we definitely thought we were going to go with the dome project and then obviously we had some hiccups so we had to go back to the drawing board, and that takes time to come up with a different structure, different layout – it was two or three separate buildings, but now it’s combined into one superstructure,” he said.
Septon said he expects the sports complex to be opened by the new year.
“We’re excited to provide this to the town and the surrounding area, and we’re really looking forward to getting this opened and everyone coming through the doors,” he said.
The developer reached an agreement with the township which involves a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) which provides a 30-year tax exemption deal.
PILOT can be calculated in one of two ways: the redeveloper pays a minimum of 10 percent of the annual gross revenues of a project, or a minimum of two percent of the total project costs.
A PILOT program can last 10 to 30 years, and it includes a series of required increases in the PILOT amount over the term of the PILOT. Afterwards, it reverts to regular taxation.
The PILOT agreement with the township was approved via ordinance in 2022 and includes complementary and discounted hours for the Township Recreation Department and Board of Education.
