Youth Lacrosse Leaders Support Indoor Athletic Complex

To the editor: Nantucket Youth Lacrosse enthusiastically supports the efforts to construct an indoor athletic complex in Nantucket. With a dedicated indoor space, athletes would have a safe location, to train, play and compete year-round, regardless of weather conditions.

Nantucket Youth Lacrosse currently has 225 kids enrolled in our spring ’23 program up 33 percent from 2022. Such a facility could be used for a variety of sports and activities, including lacrosse, soccer, gymnastics, baseball, amongst others. Our organization would utilize it most heavily over the fall, winter and early spring period as well as for games, camps and clinics in periods of inclement weather year-round. The lacrosse community had had significant interest to host winter camps from professionals such as Jarrod Neumann, but have not had the facilities to reach the potential that Jared has envisioned.

Indoor facilities across the northeast have proven to be hugely successful. Facilities such as the newly built Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley have become the community center of the area. The temperature-controlled facilities have offered a robust, easy to maintain solution for year-round activities. Indoor facilities in Nantucket could play an incredible compliment that the Boys and Girls Club has served the island for so many years, offering a complimentary set of facilities that not only serves the sporting requirements of the youth and young adult, but also much needed fields and recreational facilities for the active adult community on the island.

Indoor athletic facilities are extremely versatile and can also be used to host a variety of community events, such as concerts and trade shows.

An indoor athletic complex would help to bolster the local economy by attracting tournaments and events that would bring encourage visitors to our town. This would not only benefit local businesses but also generate revenue for the town through usage fees.

The Board of Nantucket Youth Lacrosse urges the Nantucket Select Board and Nantucket Land Bank to seriously consider the construction of an indoor athletic complex in Nantucket.

The benefits to our community, including Nantucket Youth Lacrosse, are clear, and we believe that such a facility would be a tremendous asset to the Town of Nantucket. Thank you for your consideration.

Nantucket Youth Lacrosse Board of Directors:

Gary McCarthy
Jocelyn Beni
Bert Turner
Erin Myers
Alexa Coleman
Scott Holmes
Brian Herlihy
Greg Mckechnie
Sam Chambers
Corey Gammill
Jim Hurd
Noah Gerstmyer
Quinn Veysey
Katie Crupi- Sullivan
Brian Bernazzani
Matt Dwyer