YORKTOWN – A new 15-acre, $6 million facility that includes various ball courts, a putting green and a walking path is set to open this spring.
Granite Knolls sports and recreation complex on Stony Street will have basketball, pickleball and handball courts, as well as four fields that will be used by various schools and for tournaments.
There will be a charge for field use, but the rest of the activities are free for anyone. Officials expect the fields to open in March, and the courts to follow in May. Field rates have not yet been set.
“This will be ready to go for spring sports,” said Todd Orlowski, the superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department, which will manage the facility. He didn’t have an exact date.
During a recent tour, colored lines crisscrossed two of the fields that will soon host lacrosse and other sports. Blue is for the Yorktown High boys lacrosse team. Lakeland High field hockey gets the maroon, and football gets the white — the colored lines set the regulation boundaries for each sport.
There will also be a regulation-size baseball diamond and a smaller, handicap-accessible diamond for adult softball, kickball and other activities.
A concession building is ready, a basketball court still needs work, and the six pickleball courts will soon take shape. Handball courts are nearly finished, and there’s also a putting green coming.
Surrounding the fields, which are all artificial turf, is a half-mile path for walkers and runners that will link to 75 miles of town walking and mountain biking trails. There will also be a picnic area.
Officials want Granite Knolls to make money for the town by marketing it to the region. Town Supervisor Ilan Gilbert said the complex could generate revenue by charging organizations or teams from surrounding communities that want it for tournaments or other events.
The facility is being paid for by Enbridge, the successor to Spectra Energy, which is replacing sections of the Algonquin gas pipeline that runs through town with a larger line. Enbridge has used a portion of the town’s other recreational complex, Legacy Fields, during the pipeline work, so it agreed to pay for Granite Knolls.
“It’s state of the art,” Gilbert said. Officials are looking to create 240 parking spaces, and more bleachers still need to be set up for spectators.
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