Sports-parent friends to open indoor training center
Nov. 9, 2023
Two friends whose kids played sports together are opening what they say is a much-needed additional place for teams to practice and play.
Impact Sport Center is under construction at 500 N. Ebenezer Ave. It’s owned by Jason Wolthuizen and Chad Yde, who met when their kids played baseball together.
“Jason had always wanted to build a facility for his kids because there’s just not a lot of options for at least the baseball side for sure, and I have kids that play basketball,” Yde said. “There’s just not a lot of good space, so he brought it up to me, and I said, ‘Let’s do it.'”
Both are entrepreneurs already. Yde is the owner of Beds by Design, and Wolthuizen owns Midwest Premier Homes.
Impact Sport Center is a 40,000-square-foot building that includes an upper mezzanine level.
“We wanted to make it a nice facility,” Yde said. “There aren’t a lot of nice facilities. My kids are playing in older gyms and churches. It’s going to be state of the art with all-wood floors and high-quality equipment for athletes.”
An example image for the future Impact Sport Center
The north side will be three high school-sized gyms that can accommodate basketball, including smaller courts for middle school students and basketball shooting machines, and up to five full-size volleyball courts if the space were set up for it. In another configuration, it can hold about 15 pickleball courts, Yde said.
“Our goal is to house tournaments,” he added.
The south side will be 10,000 square feet of open field turf, along with 4,000 square feet of batting cages and hitting equipment.
An example image for the future Impact Sport Center
“It’s going to be the best turf and the best basketball floor you can get,” Yde said. “We want it to be safe, and the way you do that is flooring with an impact rating. Especially if we do pickleball, we’re trying to make it safe and appealing for people who want to do tournaments.”
The mezzanine will include offices and locker rooms, a seating area with a TV, concession space that includes a full kitchen for future use and several golf simulators.
The name “Impact” refers to how the owners hope the facility can have an impact on the community, including donating a portion of advertising income inside the building to supporting kids in need.
“We’re excited by the opportunity to help the community,” Yde said.
The goal is to open early next year. Depending on how much interest there is from teams in reserving space, there might be open-gym opportunities at some point.
“I bet there’s a conversation a day about usage,” Yde said. “So we’re really excited about that. Everyone realizes there’s another spot. Especially on the west side, there’s not a lot of space without having to drive across town, so we’ve had a lot of interest.”
