Since opening in November, Kits SportsCenter in Lake Zurich already has become a mecca for sports and fitness enthusiasts, drawing thousands of kids and parents from Lake County and surrounding communities.
The 54,000-square-foot center will host its official grand opening today with an open house from noon to 4 p.m., offering the public a view of its state-of-the-art indoor sports facilities and programs.
Judging by the number of people who have been going there so far, the place already is a hit.
Soccer is the cornerstone of Kits. The $3.3 million center includes two indoor soccer fields. When not used for soccer, the fields are converted into lacrosse or flag football fields or serve as a golf driving range. The building also has a gymnasium for basketball and volleyball and rooms for exercise classes.
This massive playground was the vision of co-owner Tom Chmela of Lake Zurich, a longtime soccer coach and physical education teacher who now manages the operation. Chmela coached soccer at Evanston Township and Gordon Tech High Schools for 15 years. He also ran Kits Soccer Camps for 20 years before deciding to create Kits SportsCenter with partner Jim Economou of Skokie and a group of investors. (The “Kits” name was derived from the Evanston Wildkits team moniker.)
“Opening a facility like this has been a dream of mine for more than 10 years,” Chmela said. “The Lake Zurich community needs a facility like this, and I’m very excited that we’ve been able to fill that void.
“We’re unique in a lot of ways because we went with high-class materials such as the Astroturf we have on our soccer fields, the nets we have all around for lacrosse,” he added. “The floor in the gymnasium is the same kind the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team just put in.”
Besides hosting team sports, Kits offers fitness classes for young and old, aerobics, child-development classes, day-care facilities, after-school programs and special events for parents and children. Something is always going on at Kits, day or night.
The center draws patrons from other nearby communities including Barrington, Long Grove, Kildeer, Hawthorn Woods, Deer Grove, Buffalo Grove, Mundelein, Libertyville, Crystal Lake, Wauconda and Island Lake.
Kim Schroeder, a mother of three from Lake Zurich, said she has made Kits a home away from home for herself and family. Two or three days a week, Schroeder participates in an exercise program. She also is taking a soccer instruction class and has joined a women’s competitive soccer league. Her twin daughters, Kelsey and Lindsey, 8, attend soccer camp, and her son, Christopher, 6, plays soccer and basketball there.
“We all love it,” Schroeder said. “Lake Zurich really, really needed something like this, and we’re so glad it’s here. As a facility, it’s wonderful.”
Ruth Cobert, another mother of three from Lake Zurich, agreed. “It’s fabulous, it’s convenient and it’s nice for the community to have something like this,” she said. “It’s very family-oriented, and there are a lot of activities for the kids.”
In fact, Cobert is not just a soccer mom, she’s part of a soccer family. “I play, my husband plays and all my kids play,” she said. “This is my first time playing soccer. Since everyone else in my family was doing it, I decided to. I love it.”
Chmela said Kits has more than 250 soccer teams at all levels, with each team having 12 to 18 players. Chmela estimated that on one recent weekend, from Friday night to Sunday evening, about 10,000 people passed through Kits’ doors.
For the town of Lake Zurich, population about 18,000, Kits SportsCenter has made quite an impact.
“From a community sense, it has really been well received, not just by the kids around here but by the adults, too, because they offer a lot of adult programs,” said James Krischke, Lake Zurich village president. “The people in this community have really taken to it.”
Krischke said Kits SportsCenter fills an important niche. “Our park district is on a limited budget, so this fits in nicely,” he said. “I don’t view it as competitive. It complements it and in some respects completes it.”
Krischke said it also keeps families from having to travel elsewhere to play indoor soccer and other sports, especially in winter.
“Until now, a lot of families have had to travel to Hoffman Estates or Palatine for indoor soccer,” he said. “Now this gives us an opportunity to have it closer to home.”
The new center has had other effects. “It’s right on the fringe of our downtown redevelopment area and has had a positive effect on downtown, bringing all kinds of people and business here,” Krischke said.
Chmela, who has two soccer-playing daughters, said the growing community needed a large-scale sports facility to handle all the new residents.
“This area has been booming with children. All the areas have been building schools, and classes are full and there was really nothing for all these kids and adults,” Chmela said. “I saw that we had no park district facilities like gymnasiums or activity centers out in this area.”
Chmela said there already has been a steady growth in the popularity of soccer, which is why he thought it was important to build a giant indoor facility.
“It’s pretty remarkable that a lot of people don’t realize that soccer has been the No. 1 participatory sport for the youth in the United States for the last 18 years. It’s not something that has just blossomed,” Chmela said. “I think people are realizing that it’s a great activity for kids. We have 14 women’s leagues. I would say out of those 14 teams, 10 of them have members who never played before. They’re watching their kids play, and now they’re getting an opportunity to participate themselves. I felt this would be a great marketplace to develop something like this.”
Chmela believes that soccer has become so popular because of the simplicity of the game and its openness to players of all levels and ages.
“Having been involved in soccer all my life, I’ve seen that it’s a game where it doesn’t matter at the youth level how fast, how good, how strong, how quick you are,” he said. “There’s a place for all these kids to play. And it’s a very cheap sport to play.”
Kits isn’t the only recreational facility in the area launched recently by private entrepreneurs hoping to fill a public void.
Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove opened last June after three businessmen decided the area needed a center for hockey and figure skating. Taxpayers in Buffalo Grove apparently weren’t willing to foot the bill for a community rink, even though many wanted one.
“We took it upon ourselves to do it,” said Bruce Weinberg, one of the owners of Twin Rinks. “Not having a rink close by and having to drive too far to get to one, we knew the need existed.”
Weinberg said the number of skaters has been steadily growing, and the park district is promoting some of their programs. “We have a good relationship with them,” Weinberg said. “Our youth programs are incredible, and the rink seems to have been a success right out of the hopper.”
At Kits, visitors can pay for daily use of the facility or buy a monthly pass, a yearly pass or punch cards for classes and visits. Most classes go for eight weeks and cost $48.
“We don’t believe in membership,” Chmela said. “You pay for what you do. We also have all certified and professional staff. We’re offering not only a quality building but a quality staff and programs.”
“They have everything,” Schroeder said. “The people there are wonderful, and they’re very kid-oriented. They work on self-esteem and don’t emphasize the competitiveness.”
Chmela sees a bright future for Kits. “I think the community has responded in a very positive way,” he said. “There are still probably a lot of people who still don’t even know that we exist out here.”
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For more information on programs, hours of operation and fees, call Kits SportsCenter, 325 Surryse Rd., Lake Zurich, at 847-726-9650.
