The Palestra celebrates grand opening

On a muggy July 9 afternoon in North Liberty, dozens of community members gathered at 1450 Hayes Lane to celebrate the grand opening of The Palestra, a 36,000-square-foot sports complex that broke ground last August. Housing four basketball and volleyball courts, 12 pickleball courts and two community spaces, the facility will be open to traveling sports teams and clubs, and host community events for both North Liberty residents and the surrounding community.

“It's a long time coming for a facility like this, especially in North Liberty,” Dave Lane, The Palestra’s co-owner and operator, said. “There's just such a demand for it, and we're just happy to be able to provide a space for organizations, for local clubs, for individuals…to be able to bring others from outside the community here for events to spend money and help out the community in that way.” Already, The Palestra’s roster is filling up with team practices, he said. “It’s going to be full for a long time,” he added. “We do some long-term agreements with it.” Present at the celebration were Lauren Hansen, executive director of Iowa United Volleyball, and Colby Greene, youth director of the organization. “For us to be able to have this facility is huge…the location is super ideal for volleyball,” Ms. Hansen said, pointing out that it’s a short drive from the neighboring cities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Solon and Coralville, and it will bring more people to the community from outlying areas. “There’s nothing like this.”

Prior to the ceremony, the gym space was filled with youth practicing basketball. Amelia Koehn-Prout, whose nine-year-old nephew, Kyler Koehn, is in his second year of playing basketball, watched his practice from the sidelines with her mother, Chris Koehn. “It’s so nice having this facility,” said Ms. Koehn-Prout. “It’s a nice addition to the Corridor and Iowa City area, and it’s great for families. It’s great to get kids active and healthy.” Next door to the sports complex, construction is being completed on a 37,000-square-foot family entertainment center that will house a bowling alley and a Pizza Ranch with an adjoining arcade.

It’s all part of the broader Solomon’s Landing district, 80 acres of residential and commercial properties located on the corner of Penn Street and N. Jones Boulevard and the vision of locally-owned Lion Development Group. “This (is) a project that we've been working on for three-and-a-half years, and to say that we've got almost 100,000 square feet of commercial built or under construction already leased in today's market is a pretty impressive feat,” Brandon Pratt, co-owner of The Palestra and owner of Lion Development Group, said. “I'm very proud of my team [for being able] to put that together.”