On a gorgeous day in Fargo, people from all across the community came to celebrate the grand opening of the Fargo Parks Sports Center at the Sanford Sports Complex. The massive new facility brings together Sanford Sports Performance and Academy into one location.
“Whether you’re an athlete and you need an athletic training visit, or a physical therapy visit, or a strength and conditioning visit, or an academy coach to work with, we’re all in one house with a beautiful surrounding,” said Steve Young, Sanford Sports president.
“This has been a day in the making for many, many years,” said Susan Jarvis, chief operating officer of Sanford Fargo and North Network. “It’s an exciting day to see it finally open and see the community here and just see all of the wonderful things that are going to happen here at the Sanford Sports Complex in Fargo.”
Regional hub for sports
For Sanford Sports, the opening of this new facility brings many of its programs together under one roof. Previously, Sanford Sports Performance and Sanford Sports Academy basketball programs were crammed into one space. Now they have their own areas, and the academy has added volleyball programming as well. With so much demand for camps, tournaments and court time, space is no longer an issue.
“I’ve seen a lot of courts, seen a lot of facilities, and this is right up there with the best that I’ve ever seen. And we travel a lot,” said Pete Tomhave, the Sanford Sports Academy volleyball lead in Fargo.
With eight hardwood courts that easily convert from volleyball to basketball, the new gym will be a popular place for athletes in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
“It allows the community to be a part of basketball every single day and hopefully allow kids to continue to keep growing with their skills,” said Freddy Coleman, who oversees Sanford Sports Academy basketball programming. “This allows us to have a home base and really build our foundation of what we think Sanford basketball can be for years to come.”
Just across from the volleyball and basketball courts is a full-size artificial turf field for soccer and football, with sprint lanes for track off to the side of the field, and an elevated walking and running track up above. In a building this large, with so many areas for athletes, safety also plays an important role. That’s why Sanford will have sports medicine support available during select practices and events as well.
Sanford Sports Performance also has state-of-the-art facilities for athletes of all ages and abilities, in both individual and group settings. Services offered include speed and agility training, strength training, endurance training, sports nutrition, mental performance, workout recovery and testing.
“We can handle bigger crowds and we can offer more without getting in each other’s way,” said Randy Martin, manager of Sanford Sports Performance in Fargo.
On the rehab side, there are eight physical therapy exam rooms and a 2,200-square-foot training room which includes multiple camera systems and a runner’s clinic for analyzing the movement of Sanford Sports athletes as they recover from injuries. There are also hot and cold plunge therapy pools as well as an underwater treadmill.
“The equipment that we have available to us … it offers so many more possibilities for treatment to get these athletes back to their sport,” said Jason Burud, manager of Sanford Sports physical therapy.
Expansion in the future
There is still more on the horizon as well. Phase I of the project is complete, but construction continues at the facility, which will measure 390,000 square feet when Phase II is done.
Phase II will include the addition of two courts dedicated solely for Sanford Sports Academy uses, as well as two sheets of ice, four additional basketball and volleyball courts, six pickleball courts and an indoor playground. Plus, the 123-acre property still has plenty of space to expand to in the future as well. The facility is estimated to see over one million visitors per year, while providing a multipurpose hub for local athletes and teams year-round.
Learn more
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Posted In Community, Company News, Fargo, News, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation & Therapy, Sanford Sports, Sports Medicine
