Sports City moves to Santa Rosa’s new Epicenter

Santa Rosa’s enormous new indoor sports and entertainment venue continues to roll out different attractions as it gets closer to what should truly be a grand opening later this year.

Following close on the heels of Anytime Fitness, which opened its doors last month, three new businesses are now operating inside the ambitious $18 million Epicenter project in northwest Santa Rosa.

Sports City last week began hosting soccer, lacrosse and other sports programs on its two new full-size and one youth-size indoor soccer fields and multipurpose courts.

Rockin’ Jump, which bills itself as “The ultimate trampoline park,” has also opened a safe place for kids and adults alike to flip out.

And Starbucks is now serving its seemingly ever-expanding menu of drinks and food.

The openings represent a significant milestone for the project, which began construction in a former wine storage facility in December.

The premiere of Sports City, in particular, has already begun drawing hundreds of athletes to the new Coffey Lane facility, and should help build anticipation for the entertainment features expected to follow.

The company, which has been in Santa Rosa for 20 years and moved to Epicenter from a smaller complex about a mile east on Piner Road, has about 10,000 members and more than 150 adult sports teams, mostly soccer, that use its fields, president Andrew Rowley said.

The new facility, in which Sports City is an investor, will allow the business to significantly expand the number and type of sports leagues and programs offered, he said.

The synthetic fields can be used not only for soccer but lacrosse, which is growing in popularity, and flag football, he said.

And the multipurpose courts can be divided into different zones for multiple simultaneous basketball, volleyball, badminton or other games, significantly expanding the range of sports.

“We truly are Sports City now,” Rowley said Thursday during a tour.

The recycled artificial turf fields have two forms of shock absorption to mimic the give of real grass and reduce injuries for players, Rowley said. The three fields are built on half-inch-thick pads and the synthetic turf fibers are filled in with the latest recycled plastic pellet technology, he said.

But the appeal of the Epicenter is not the quality and adaptability of the fields themselves, but the other attractions that will make the experience of visiting more interesting, he said.

“A kid out on the field might not notice the difference much, but his parents sure will and his grandparents sure will,” Rowley said.

Much like a mall or retail supercenter hopes to be all things to all shoppers, the developers are betting that bringing sports together with food, and entertainment like bowling, laser tag, interactive video games and a quality sports bar, will draw parents, children and singles alike, whether for birthday parties, date nights or corporate functions.

Mayor John Sawyer joined the tour Thursday and said he was impressed not only by the number of amenities offered, but also the quality of the workmanship and thought into how the different features will be integrated. The various venues will be cross-marketed to encourage visitors to learn about and try all the Epicenter tenants, Rowley said.

“It’s one thing to see a list of the things being offered,” Sawyer said as he stood amid construction materials near the future laser tag area. “It’s another thing to be in a space and see how those things are going to be provided.”

Sawyer said he could easily see how the completed center could become a regional draw for people to visit Santa Rosa for a sports tournament or the casino-like entertainment and end up staying overnight or longer because of it.

“This is the embodiment of what we need to be an urban center,” Sawyer said.

The completion date remains a moving target.

The project is a few months behind schedule, due partly to design changes and partly to challenges receiving building permits given the uniqueness of the building, said Joe Lourdeaux, vice president of the company.

But he said the city has been supportive and he hopes the rest of the facility can open by December.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.