Play Your Passion: Warinanco Sports Center
In September 2022, KemperSports proudly launched KemperSports Venues, a new business unit dedicated to serving and supporting the company’s expanding portfolio of youth and amateur sports facilities. As a company built on a commitment to delivering premier sports experiences and exceptional service, we are excited to introduce our growing family of KemperSports Venues facilities across the country and highlight how each is serving its local community and enabling athletes, coaches, parents and guests to play their passions.
Warinanco Sports Center is located in Union County, New Jersey’s historic Warinanco Park, which is named after a prominent Native American Lanape leader, and opened in 1920. The 205-acre park features a unique variety of amenities open to the community. From pedal boat rentals, a splash pad and playgrounds for the children to a turf field and running track, beautiful gardens, and great walking paths, there’s something for everyone to enjoy and play in the park.
Generations of residents have fond memories of skating on the Warinanco rink, which hosts nearly 50,000 visitors per year. Initially built in 1961, the rink was billed as the first public artificial ice skating rink in Union County. In 2017, the rink was renamed Warinanco Sports Center after undergoing an extensive $7 million modernization and renovation, which doubled the overall complex space and transformed it into a year-round venue for skating and other recreational and social activities.
Today, we’re spotlighting Warinanco Sports Center’s winter experiences, which include public ice skating, learn-to-ice skate programming for kids and adults, and ice hockey clinics. Warinanco Sports Center is also home to nine Union County high school hockey teams.
View the timelapse of the ice rink being put down at Warinanco Sports Center.
“Our team is committed to providing an exceptional family entertainment venue at an incredible value to the residents of Union County,” General Manager Leon Grebla shared. “Being able to offer year-round programming, recreational activities and social gatherings is something we’re very passionate about because it enables community members and families to come together and truly feel connected as a community.”
To continue to serve the growing demand for the ice skating rink as an important part of the Union County community. In October 2022, the State of New Jersey announced it will be providing the County of Union $8 million in funding for a new indoor ice skating rink at Warinanco Sports Center that will feature a state-of-the-art second sheet of ice for increased capacity. The project for the new rink is slated to begin by the end of 2023 with an estimated completion date of 2025.
In addition to its ice rink programming, special events like birthday parties, family reunions, corporate meetings, and fundraisers are held throughout the year in Warinanco Sports Center’s beautiful event spaces. The center also boasts a Café & Snack Bar perfect for parents, patrons, and participants to grab a bite to eat during their visit.
Later this spring, we’ll share how Warinanco puts the “multi” into “multi-sport” complex as its ice rink converts into a turf field for spring and summer programming and enables the facility to host semi-pro lacrosse games, professional wrestling tournaments, and arena league football games for the community to enjoy.
Be sure to check out other features from our #PlayYourPassion blog series below to learn how KemperSports Venues nationwide are serving its local communities and enabling guests to play their passions.
• Play Your Passion: AllGolf at C.B. Smith Park
To learn more about KemperSports Venues, visit www.kempersports.com/venues.
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