Soccer games kicked off opening day at the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex in the Town of Union.
The 70 foot high multi-purpose dome is the largest of it's kind in the country, covering nearly 125 thousand square feet.
Owner Bob Kashou says "It's a great day to open up. We've been working on this for a long time and now, it came to fruition and we're very excited about it."
The 3 point 5 million dollar complex took four and a half months to build
It's home to 5 indoor soccer fields, and a driving range.
Youth soccer leagues broke in the new artificial turf, much to the delight of coaches and players who say this facility will help develop better athletes.
Christopher Walsh, a coach for Youth League Soccer says "It allows them to play year round, for one. This gives us a chance to play larger sized fields. 11 v 11 size soccer, and get our skills up to par."
Abby Jacoski of Vestal says "The fields are a lot bigger. So it's like more running time. There's like more fields, so you get more time to warm up."
There's still more to be added to this sports complex.
Kashou says the complex will be built in three phases.
Today marks the completion of the first phase.
He says "Now that phase one of the Greater Binghamton Sports Complex is complete, plans for phase two are underway. That includes 5 baseball fields being built outside this indoor complex by the end of the summer."
According to Kashou, phase three will include retail stores.
But for now, opening day will be enjoyed by him, and the many teams that were the first to play in the new dome.
The Greater Binghamton Sports Complex is right off Airport Road in the Town of Union
It's open to the public, free of charge, 9am to 11pm Monday through Friday, and 8am to 11pm Saturday and Sunday.