Zoning Board OKs SportZone
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — Approval for the preliminary and final site plan for an athletic complex on Route 33 was granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Dec. 7.

The resolution of approval means the developers of SportZone, a 33,000-square-foot, two-story athletic complex, will likely break ground this spring and open for business in about a year, according to Robert DeVino, one of the principals in the project.

DeVino’s partners in the project are Mike Hammer and Todd Berman. The three men already operate a SportZone at the Ivy League Day Camp, Gordons Corner Road.

The second SportZone will be built at 500 Madison Avenue, a new street being constructed off Route 33 west near the Knob Hill housing development and golf course. The facility will include indoor basketball courts, an indoor sports field and a snack bar.

According to previous interviews with Hammer, the basketball courts will also function as volleyball courts and the indoor sports field will be used for soccer, baseball, lacrosse and other field sport activities. The facility will also include a room that will be available for private parties.

Due to the fact that the sports facility is not a permitted use in Manalapan’s Special Economic Development zone, the application for the 5.6-acre site required a use variance, as well as variances for side parking and setback requirements for the building itself.

DeVino has called the SportZone a “beneficial project for the town. We’re giving our town a beautiful facility they will be proud to have.”