Plans were unveiled today for a 100,000 square foot sports complex in the Pencader area south of Newark.
Lonnie Wright, founder of the Nothing But Net Sports Academy (NBNSA), offered more details on the project at an event at the proposed site of the complex.
Wright said the project is moving forward with plans to secure the site and select a contractor.
The organization is shooting for a summer 2022 completion date on the project with a reported $10 million price tag.
“We’re not there yet,” said Wright, who was quick to add that a lot of progress has been made to date.
Plans call for five high school-sized basketball courts, an NBA-sized court with a shot clock, volleyball courts, and an eighty-yard indoor turf field house.
Wright emphasized that NBNSA will not compete with complexes like DE Turf, south of Dover. Instead, the organization will work with other sports complexes in landing events.
According to Wright, the major difference between other sports sites and NBNSA is his organization’s education programs, including life skills classes and a preparatory school. The center will also the home for sports leagues and adult and youth sports tournaments.
Nonathletes with interest in sports will be able to study sports media and sports analytic.
The idea for the center came out of dissuasions with parents of children who are part of the current basketball program.
Wright said a larger goal is to make Delaware into a center for sports. He noted that none of the professional athletes from Delaware live in the state.
Nothing But Net Sports Academy is a 501-C3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing Delaware youth from ages 4 to 18 with supervised, fundamental learning experiences in athletics, academics, and life skills. NBNSA provides financial assistance for eligible student-athletes.
