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Jan 5, 2008 11:13 pm US/Central

New Sports Facility Fits Into 2016 Olympic Plans

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The city of Chicago unveiled a fantastic new sports facility Saturday. The building will play host to a whole slew of indoor games. CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports.

The 90,000-square-foot facility has three full-size field, two practice fields, a restaurant and other amenities.

After dedicating the Chicago indoor sports building, Mayor Daley said it is a perfect fir for his plan to bring the Olympics to Chicago in 2016.

"To me, it will bring out the best in the city -- to really inspire another generation of young people to prepare themselves for the Olympic movement or Paralympic movement," Daley said.

Frank Klopas, a former U.S. Soccer Olympian, says the facility is something he could only dream of when he was training for the 1988 Melbourne Olympics.

"Facilities like this were non-existent or very few," Klopas said. "I mean, I was basically in my church gym and stuff where the space was very small. We've come a long way."

The facility is located in the Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood, an area on the South Side of the city with a very small number of parks and recreation centers.

"This is part economic development, part community development, and part human development," said Ald. George Cardenas (12th).

The building located at 39th Street and Ashland has two party rooms for team or family gatherings. It is considered the city's first all-indoor soccer center.

"We've got a sports center now located right in the heart of the city of Chicago, which is unique for a major city," said Mike Wydell, owner of Chicago Indoor Sports. "Most of the indoor soccer centers in the country, and there are about 600 of them, are located either in the suburbs or in smaller towns."

The facility was primarily built for soccer, but it can also accommodate other sports like flag football and lacrosse. Building it was not easy: it took five years of planning and $7 million.

The playing surface on each field is also the latest in synthetic grass, offering the best possible surface on which to play.

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