Sportime outlines plans for seasonal ‘‘bubbles’’ and new courts at Greenburgh park

At a June 3 Greenburgh Town Board work session, Sportime presenters described a plan to install two seasonal fabric domes (‘‘bubbles’’), a clubhouse and new courts adjacent to the town pool complex, and said the project would include padel courts, pickleball and tennis facilities and community programming.

The presenter (Speaker 4) said the concept includes a north dome with six tennis courts, a south dome with combined tennis and pickleball courts, a clubhouse between them and a separate fabric structure to host padel courts and multipurpose space. ‘‘The bubbles are not permanent,’’ the presenter said, noting the company will seek temporary classification under state code rather than requesting a sprinkler variance.

Why it matters: Sportime told the board the project would generate recurring revenue for town parks, fund community programming and create scholarships and local youth opportunities; board members said they need technical and safety documentation to judge public‑safety and neighborhood impacts.

Ben Chlanski, a Sportime representative, described the community benefits the company expects to deliver. ‘‘We have community programming — a baseline of 500 community programming hours per year — and the minimum scholarship commitment in our agreements is $250,000,’’ Chlanski said. He also said Sportime expects a year‑one minimum payment to the town of $250,000, with scheduled increases and potential revenue sharing if gross receipts exceed thresholds in the contract.

The presenter identified stormwater management as the principal engineering challenge because the site has an uphill and downhill relationship that requires soils investigations and careful outlet planning. He said the project team will perform coring and pit investigations and coordinate equipment access with town staff to avoid disrupting active park uses.

Board members focused on public‑safety details. A town staff member relayed a text from Chief Maceda about emergency response times: Fairview’s first engine can reach the nearby Rumbrook area in about four minutes and response to the town park site is approximately five minutes. The board asked for that detail to be provided in writing and recommended the project team produce a fire‑safety memo that includes mechanical‑unit location, egress calculations and any material testing for smoke or toxins.

On regulatory procedure, town staff explained the board may authorize a ‘‘governmental immunity’’ process to streamline site‑plan and steep‑slope variances for town‑owned park projects, while still completing SEQRA (environmental) review, holding a public hearing and referring the application to involved agencies including NYSDOT, Westchester County, the nearby village and the Hartsdale Fire District. Staff cited past town projects that used that process but emphasized that public input and environmental review remain part of the docket.

Board members raised additional questions about occupancy and egress, storm and snow protocols for inflatable structures and the limited documented cases of fires starting at mechanical/pressurization units. The presenter said modern dome fabrics are largely non‑flammable, that incidents are uncommon and that the team has compiled a report of past failures for the board to review.

Next steps: the board requested written fire‑safety documentation, incident and material reports, egress/occupancy calculations and formal referrals to planning, zoning and parks advisory boards. Sportime and town staff were asked to return with those materials and a more detailed timeline; the presenter reiterated a target to begin earthwork in the fall and finish toward a September 2026 opening if permitting and review proceed on schedule.

The town will not take action to formalize governmental immunity at tonight’s session; staff said a public hearing and formal resolution would follow after the SEQRA and referral process.