OAKLAND — The Ellis Park field house has its grand opening Saturday.
Starting at 10 a.m., neighbors will get a chance to see what the $17.5 million field house at 707 E. 37th St. looks like, with its swimming pool, basketball courts and rooftop patio.
“This exceeds all my expectations,” Chicago Park District General Supt. Michael Kelly said in April during a tour of the still active construction. “It does look like we grabbed the highlights of the best things we’ve built.”
The construction is now finished and neighbors will get a chance to see what so impressed Kelly.
The new field house includes a five-lane swimming pool, a gym with six basketball hoops and bleachers, a fitness center outfitted with exercise machines and a community room for summer camps and classes.
The project has been in development for more than a decade, spanning the administrations of aldermen Toni Preckwinkle, Will Burns and current Ald. Sophia King (4th) and is the newest and one of the largest on the south lakefront at 32,000 square feet.
The Chicago Park District is currently rolling out programming at the field house, starting with a host of swim camps over the summer.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
