Traffic - The majority of the traffic to the bubble will be after school and evenings as well as weekends. Based on the staggered start and stop times of the programs, we don't anticipate more than 40 cars to be in the parking lot on average at any one time. Most of the programs offered are training classes and clinics. Children are either dropped off or their parents stay and watch, depending on their age. We will not have stadium seating in the bubble, so there are no large areas for crowds to sit.
Our busiest hours of operation will be between 4pm and 8pm on weekdays. We anticipate being open as late as 10pm on some days depending on any adult activities going on. These are indoor activities and no noise comes from the dome. The clubhouse will be open in the morning for a few sports related retail businesses. We anticipate a minimal amount of traffic at that time. The dome is not designed to be open 24 hours a day.
The bubble is designed around programs and clinics, primarily for children. This is not a hang out destination. If you are not involved in a program, you will not come here. There will not be an arcade available to the general public at the bubble. At the sister facility in NJ, there have been (Tom - fill in -) few if any security issues that have resulted in requiring police attention.
Our sister facility in New Jersey shared the following:
SECURITY: Teaneck is an active Military facility with unlocked doors leading to the offices. The unlocked basement also houses Military vehicles and sensitive equipment and supplies that include ammunition. We have had not issues with our guests because they are connected to teams and parents. We do not offer programs to someone walking in off the street. There is nothing for them. Waldwick programs mirror Teaneck and also have zero security issues. Over the years, there have not been any security issues at these locations. All players are accountable to a team coach, trainer or parent.
HOURS: Programs are either :60 minutes or :90 minutes long beginning around 4:00 p.m. with after school sessions that usually end around 8:30-9:00 p.m. with the oldest children entering last on a “school night”. Adults play in leagues from 9:00-11:00 p.m. Pre-school children have classes in the morning and early afternoon. We place zero complications for morning rush hour traffic and very little in the evening given our staggering of programs in the afternoon and evening. Remember, that even seasonally our busiest winter season is the off-season for our neighbors. Rumbrook Park, Elmwood Country Club, the Westchster Golf Range and Elmwood Day Camp are all busiest in the summer months. Hours of operation are expected to be 10 AM to 11 PM.
NUMBERS: We have between 30-80 players at any one time depending on the class or league. Daytime Pre-school classes are small with about 8-15 children to a class. After school classes rotate every 60-90 minutes as per the above with one group leaving and one group arriving throughout the afternoon and evening in a sequential manner. We won’t have stadium seating and, in fact, have only a few benches in our Waldwick facility because the field is for instruction and games and not lounging. Teams usually have parents car-pooling and this makes the volume of spectators relatively small given the numbers above. There is an industry statistic of one car per 2 people (probably includes some spectators, although we have few). But using Ken’s number below (80+ players) it comes to about 50 cars per hour max during busy times.
FIELDS: We will have four fields where players will play 7 V 7/ Field for a total of 56 (14x4) players on the field and a few reserves on the sidelines waiting to get into games if and when filled to capacity. These four fields can be further divided into eight smaller fields for practices with but a few additional players added from the numbers above leading to a maximum number around 80 (8x10) at any given time. The smaller fields are used for 5 V 5, so only 10 kids per field.
CLUB HOUSE: We do not cater to outside customers. Our cafe and services are meant to enhance the experience of our customer base and not to attract outside visitors. The Club house is not a destination for outsiders. Additionally, most of the rented spaces are small studios, roughly 1000 sf and perhaps 3500 sf for a physical therapy office, too small to attract large crowds. There will not be a video arcade for outsiders. There will be a birthday party room with games, and only party guests have access to this room. No children will come into the facility without a purpose for being there.
Hope this helps. I’d invite anybody from the board to Waldwick if need be and we’ll give them a tour.