The Sports Academy

This place was good for a rainy day so the kids could burn some energy but I wouldn’t really be interested in doing a party here or anything. Only $ 3 a kid to play in the jungle gym so that was nice. There where wires exposed from a ride that bothered me because we had small kids with us and they could really use some cleaning under the play area.

A good friend of mine had a party here for his daughter’s 2^nd birthday. Having never been here, I didn’t know what I was walking into. Basically the facility houses a pair of indoor soccer fields which look fantastic. Games were going on the entire time on both sides, so the place was packed with people, but it didn’t hurt the party in any way. Between the fields in a moderately sized room, we were able to get 30 or so people, presents, a dessert table, and do so with room to spare.
Though there is a food bar and a «pro shop» for soccer gear, there isn’t much else to this place. I did notice a fitness area with weights and different exercise equipment but didn’t pay close enough attention to whether it was for the athletes only or if it was a membership driven gym where anyone could join. It seemed to be closed in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, so I am assuming it is for the teams that use the facility for practice and league play.
For the younger kids, there isn’t much pull other than a fantastic play enclosure that reminds me of the tunnels and play areas of the old Discovery Zone type establishments of my day. Instead of plastic and fully enclosed tunnels, though, the entire area was framed with metal poles covered in multi-​colored foam padding, with a sort of netting to contain the kids and still allow the parents to monitor every angle of the play area. For $ 3 any kid in the facility (within reason in terms of size and age) could play on the slides, rope swing (which is a rope with a small ball to sit on, to which we witnessed a little boy merrily singing «Wrecking Ball» as he swung back and forth!), and various other padded areas of the play area.
In all, for an adult there isn’t much here. If you enjoy indoor soccer, the games are entertaining enough to give you a reason to stop in when nothing else is going on. Unless you have small kids or are just desperate for a room to host a small party, there isn’t much else to enjoy here. What they do have, they do well with, so it’s not as much a bummer as it is more specifically targeted for people with small children and soccer kids.
One thing that did go over well with the adults was the Icee machine at the food bar. There were plenty of parents carrying their red and blue Icee’s around, and plenty more small children with red and blue lips darting in and out of the play area to suck down a shot out of their mom or dad’s cup!

Great place to watch a Piasa Game. The New owners took some initiative and put some money into the building.