G.I. Community Fieldhouse transitioning from State Fair use

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (KSNB) - The Grand Island Community Fieldhouse is making the transition back to hosting sporting events after being an exhibit building during the Nebraska State Fair.

The building will serve as a place where several sporting events -- from archery to soccer -- will be hosted by various groups in the area.

Recreation staff and volunteers are working this week to install turf on the grounds for soccer events, a process that Recreation Coordinator Briar Burr said takes cooperation from the State Fair.

“The brunt of the work usually takes one month; that’s what we give ourselves. We try to get as much work done in that small amount of time as possible, but the State Fair has worked great with us to make sure they have their stuff out as soon as the Fair’s over, so we can transition ours in,” Burr said.

The process also moves faster with the help of volunteers, who have came from area high schoolers. Despite the help they’ve received, they could still use more volunteers for laying out the turf.

”The biggest need for us is volunteers rolling the turf out. Each one of these rolls weighs about 2,000 pounds. We roll it in with a forklift and get it set, but after that we need some manpower to actually roll it out and set it into place.”

The Grand Island Community Fieldhouse is set to reopen for sports on Oct. 2 and is currently taking bookings, although space is limited.

The limits in space at the facility has also brought the need for a new recreation facility in Grand Island. Burr said a new facility could save space and give organizations more time to book their events.

”Once we get our rentals booked for the season, we’re constantly getting people trying to book as the season goes. The facility is not big enough for that and we could build another facility similar to this one and still have it booked out from 5-10 p.m. at night,” Burr said.

For questions about bookings, or if you’re interested in volunteering at the facility for either laying down turf, or with youth sports you can sign up at the Grand Island Parks and Recreation website.

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