A $2 million upgrade to a highly-visible Town of Tonawanda recreational facility has ended and, finally, golfers will be able to again use the Paddock Golf Dome beginning Friday morning.
The project included deflation and replacement of the dome, which was 17 years old, and replacement of the turn inside. The hope originally was to have the dome reopened by early fall but adverse weather pushed the project back.
"You're not putting up a tent in your backyard. This is a 95,000-square-foot facility," said Mark Campanella, superintendent of the Town of Tonawanda's Youth, Parks and Recreation Department. "Once the outdoor construction was done - we put drainage around the perimeter of the facility, new support beams that keep the cables that go over the whole structure - then we needed to get it up. Once we got it up, we had weather that kept us from removing the old fabric."
But once those problems were resolved, the work inside included changing the back wall to a green color which, according to Campanella, will better help golfers judge their shots. As before, the facility will be available to rent, outside golf driving hours, for other sports including scholastic baseball and softball, soccer and more.
"We're hoping to get lacrosse in here, flag football, there's so much that can be done in here," Campanella said.
