Sawmill Sports Hub is aiming to fill a niche, if a niche can be 85,000 square feet large.
A sports hub isn’t a gym and it’s not exactly a field—it’s a training facility for teams that would otherwise practice in parks and public spaces, at the mercy of the cold, the rain or, worse, other teams and other players who are already using the space.
General manager Lou Reina said the new sports complex at 17W411 South Frontage Road in Willowbrook should be able to accommodate everyone, no matter the age, no matter the sport and no matter the skill level.
“This will have all sorts of resources, like court space for volleyball, pickleball and basketball or any other sport that’s played on a court,” he said. “It’ll have a turf field and a sports performance space within the building. It’s geared toward athletes overall, whether that be at a recreation level or an elite level. We wanted to provide any resources that an athlete might need.”
Reina has been active in the Chicago sports community for years as a soccer coach, so he said he knows firsthand the value of a practice field with facilities and a staff that can help players of just about any popular team sport.
The facility can be used by the whole team to practice before a game or players can come on their own and work with trainers to develop their skills or just practice on their own. When they’re done, Sawmill has a café on site where they can relax.
“There really isn’t anything like this that I’m aware of nearby,” he said.
Reina said it’s taken three years from first planning the complex to its realization. Partly, he said, that’s due to the vision. He wanted to develop a space that could fulfill the needs of amateur teams that wanted access to an elite practice space — and that meant developing a quality complex.
“It’s going to be a dynamic building,” Reina said. “It’s truly state of the art. There’s nothing in the area that can match the resources that are being invested into this. We are looking to build partnerships and we have some great sports groups in the area that will be partners with us.”
Besides their own staff, The Hub is also offering training from groups that offer specialty instruction, such as Core1, Inc. for physical therapy and 1st Alliance/Lions Jrs Volleyball Club for volleyball programs, Spartz Sportz for basketball and Eclipse Select Soccer Club for soccer training.
Reina said he wants to have a space for people who want to practice like the pros — on courts and fields that aren’t overgrown in weeds or dinged up and damaged by use and weather. Even at the best public parks, bathrooms have lines, aren’t necessarily clean—if they’re open—and refreshments are usually limited to a water fountain and maybe a soda machine.
“It doesn’t have to be stuffed into a crummy little gym space or a space with potholes,” Reina said. “Recreational players don’t have great spaces for play.”
And, with winter here, there’s the cold and snow, too — opponents teams won’t have to face in an indoor practice space.
“In the Chicago market, being an indoor facility, that’s certainly the busiest time of year for us,” he said.
While Reina said the goal for Sawmill is to open in mid-December, he has not yet nailed down a date for the grand opening as the building is still getting its local permits in order.
“We just need to finalize a few things and then we’ll open our doors,” he said.
But interested families can take a look in advance. Sawmill is hosting a free basketball camp Dec. 14, and Lil’ Kickers, a youth soccer program, will be offering a soccer open house Dec. 7 through 13.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
