Union cut ribbon on $100 million WSFS Bank Sportsplex

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

Philadelphia Union President Tim McDermott speaks as the team officially opened the WSFS Bank Sportsplex Thursday. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

Chester Mayor Stefan Roots speaks as the Philadelphia Union cut the ribbon Thursday on the WSFS Bank Sportsplex. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)

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The Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, state-of-the-art, 170,000-square-foot sports in Chester. (PETE BANNAN/MediaNews Group)

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CHESTER — On paper, the idea had started in 2019, but Philadelphia Union principal owner Jay Sugarman had been waiting since before the club played its first game in 2010.

The idea was to transform the Chester waterfront. And while initial dreams in 2008 didn’t come to fruition in the residential form once envisioned, Sugarman and other members of the Union front office hailed the completion of a transformative investment Thursday.

The Union cut the ribbon on the 170,000-square-foot WSFS Bank Sportsplex, an indoor facility to both house elements of the Union’s organization but also host community events, and make Chester a hub for youth sports events.

“It’s not just a sports facility. It’s a community hub, it’s a classroom, it’s a launching pad for young talent,” Union President Tim McDermott said. “It’s a place where young people will learn teamwork, discipline, resilience and pride, not only in themselves, but in their neighbors in the city.”

The investment by the club and WSFS Bank totals $100 million.

In addition to the outdoor fields opened last year, the indoor facility includes weight rooms, an indoor soccer/multi-use field and a basketball court that will become the home of the Chester Biddy League. It expands the footprint of the club in uniting the Union first team, Union II and Union Academy all under one roof, but it also includes a community-facing component, which includes with the Chester Upland School District.

The club estimates 500,000 new visitors to the Chester riverfront every year thanks to the facility, which will produce $90 million in economic activity over the next 10 years. WSFS has committed to donating 365 hours of time at the facility each year to community and local non-profit groups, which includes Chester High School. The Union will also rent out the facility, as it has done with outdoor fields.

Thursday’s ribbon-cutting was attended by Union executives as well as Chester Mayor Stefan Roots, members of the Pennsylvania legislature and Delaware County Council.

“We are witnessing the beginning of a new chapter for Chester, a chapter that focuses on opportunity, development and bringing positive energy to every corner of our city,” Roots said. “This huge, nearly $100 million investment is more than just a state-of-the-art sport facility. It’s a reflection of what we as a community can achieve when we come together with a shared vision and determination.”

MLS Commissioner Don Garber was also in attendance, hailing the investment as part of more than $2 billion in facility investments made by MLS clubs.

Sugarman called it, “one of the most unique sport campuses in the entire country,” a point on which Garber agreed.

“This ribbon cutting is more than just the opening of a facility,” Garber said. “It’s a celebration of ownership’s vision of the collective vision of this community, in the belief in the power of sport to drive innovation.”

Source: Berkshire mont