NESQUEHONING, Pa. — Many know the building at the intersection of Routes 209 and 54 in Nesquehoning as a facility that once built firetrucks.
But now, the former Kovatch plant is helping build better athletes.
"Having a practice facility of this caliber so close is just amazing, and now kids don't have to travel to Allentown or up to Scranton, and that's a long ride. That's a hardship for a lot of families, so we're really happy to be able to offer something here," said Kathy Kovatch Reman, one of the owners of the property.
Narrow Valley Sportsplex is a multi-use complex for both recreation and business.
Reaman, her husband, and their business partner purchased the property in 2022 after Kovatch Mobile Equipment's parent company REV Group decided to move its firetruck operations elsewhere.
The first phase of the facility opened on Saturday and features a new golf simulator lounge and batting cages.
"We have seven cages—four full-length cages that are 70 feet long, and then we have three smaller cages that are 35 feet long—to give you a variety of practice opportunities. And we have both baseball and softball as well as some soccer teams that are scheduled to practice in the facility already," said Ric Reaman.
The new facility offers athletes and coaches a place to train and features the latest technology to help you improve your game.
"It actually does video as well as momentum statistics capture," said Ric. "Give you all your statistics that you need to track from a hitting standpoint. It also has a catching feature, so it actually allows players that play the catching position to work on their pop time and accuracy of their throws."
The multi-use complex isn't just for athletes but everyone in the community.
Reaman says in the future, there will be basketball, volleyball, and pickleball courts, as well as a large gym and two-lane track available to use on a membership basis.
"To take something that a year and a half ago everybody was very concerned about was going to be empty and see life and to bring it back to the community, that's really exciting," Kathy Reaman said.
The first basketball and volleyball court will open for pickup games or team training in March.
To learn more, or to book a training session at Narrow Valley Sportsplex, click here.