Ground was broken Monday on a $55 million WSFS Bank Sportsplex at the Chester waterfront, writes Jonatha Tannenwald for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The sportsplex will extend the practice facilities for the Philadelphia Union and it will house the Union’s youth academy and reserve team.

It’s also seen by Union principal owner Jay Sugarman as a major step toward bringing the Chester community and the Philadelphia Union sports operations together.

The facility has five new outdoor fields, an indoor turf soccer field, two multisport hard courts, a strength and conditioning center, and 5,000 square feet of retail space.

The public can rent indoor facilities. Corporate sponsor WSFS will donate 365 hours of field and facility use per year for community groups.

“We applaud you and appreciate your partnership and your willingness to say this is an awesome investment,” said Chester mayor  Thaddeus Kirkland at the groundbreaking ceremony.  

Sugarman said he wants to do much more in and for Chester and the Sportsplex is the first step.

The Sportsplex will be a 365-day-a-year campus and should spur other development nearby.

 “We will connect not just this community but this community to other communities, which is really what’s missing,” he said.

Read more about the WSFS Bank Sportsplex in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

CBS 3 reported on the groundbreaking for the Sportsplex.