Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - Groundbreaking is set for Friday for a new Kenan Civic Center in Lockport. The new center will be capable of hosting a number of sports.
"This new Kenan Civic Center is going to be huge," says executive director Bill Patti. "It's going to feature a large turf field, four basketball courts, three volleyball courts, community rooms, an art space, a large dance, yoga studio, a workout facility, and really exciting. It's going to have 50,000 square feet of open space for us to be able to hold all sorts of expos, fairs, conventions right here in Lockport."
Patti says the current Kenan Center is running out of room. "We have about 100,000 visitors a year currently with our current programming, and we're busting at the seams, especially when it comes to finding indoor spaces for kids to be able to engage and play, and for the community to meet and engage with one another," explains Patti.
There's one sport that won't be at the new Kenan Civic Center: hockey. "We've got a great hockey rink right here in Lockport at the cornerstone Ice Arena, so we're sort of filling the void of every other indoor sport," says Patti. That will include hosting AAU basketball and volleyball tournaments, plus dance competitions, cheerleading competitions, and wrestling tournaments.
Patti says the current Kenan Center has a very 1980s mold of nonprofit spaces, and now's the time for. "We need someplace that has long term stability that we're not dumping tons of money into fixing the roof and fixing the turf and all of this HVAC things like that that are problematic as the building ages. So it really is about sustainability, eco-efficiency and and a place of pride," adds Patti.
The new center is expected to open in fall 2026.