Wellesley Sports Center Walkthrough

Wellesley Sports Center Walkthrough

By Abby Patkin

Changes can be difficult to see in the view from Route 9, but inside the new Wellesley Sports Center, crews have been hard at work preparing for a spring opening.

The Townsman stopped by the 900 Worcester St. work site on Wednesday to tour the facilities and see how things are coming along.

Here are a few quick things to know:

• • The state-of-the-art facility will include twin ice rinks, two pools, turf, a fitness area, an elevated track, concessions and a pro-shop.

• • The rinks were originally set to open this winter, but the National Grid lockout delayed gas installation, pushing back the timeline. The Wellesley Sports Center is now scheduled to open this spring. If the center is able to have gas to the site by mid-March, the contractor said they should be able to turn the rinks and turf over in May to make ice, with the aquatic and tenant build-out following, according to Brian DeVellis, president of managing partner Edge Sports Group. The final occupancy certificate is at the town’s discretion, he said.

• • The Wellesley Sports Center has partnered with several town and local recreation groups. For information on schedules and preferential access, check out this recent Townsman article: bit.ly/2RCt57A.

• • The ice rink named for the Dana Hall School will be ADA compliant, accessible to sled hockey teams.

• • There will be solar panels up on the center’s roof.
  • Between full- and part-time employees, the center could bring up to 100 new jobs to Wellesley, according to DeVellis. He added that the center will try to source most of its staff locally.

Post by: Wellesley Wicked Local