Aviator Sports and Events Center http://www.aviatorsports.com is a concession

Concession (contract)

A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...

 for the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

http://www.nps.gov/ operating in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

’s historic first municipal airport, Floyd Bennett Field

Floyd Bennett Field

Floyd Bennett Field is New York City's first municipal airport. While no longer used as an operational commercial, military or general aviation airfield, the New York Police Department still flies its helicopters from its heliport base there...

, which opened its hangars in 1931 and was decommissioned in 1972. Floyd Bennett Field (FBF) in Southeast Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 is now part of the 4th most visited unit of the National Park System: Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...

. Many of the original airport structures and runways are listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 for their contribution to the nation's early aviation history. In the late 1990’s the National Park Service (NPS) was seeking private partners to help revitalize the field.

Aviator Sports and Events Center and the NPS have established a plan to improve a favorite destination for early pilots such as Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan

Douglas Corrigan

Douglas Corrigan was an American aviator born in Galveston, Texas. He was nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight from Long Beach, California, to New York, he flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, to Ireland, though his flight plan was filed to return to Long...

. Aviator and the NPS officially began their relationship in 2003 to adaptively reuse

Adaptive reuse

Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...

 4 of FBF's original hangars in the historic district (making them into one 170000 square feet (15,793.5 m²) building) and surrounding land, creating a sports complex totaling 25 acres.

Facilities

Aviator’s Sports Facilities include:

• 2 full size, synthetic turf, gated and lit outdoor soccer / lacrosse / football fields
• 2 NHL regulation size ice rinks – one of which can seat up to 2,500 people of hard wood courts to be used for sports such as basketball, volleyball, team handball, and Futsal as well as for events such as banquets, conferences, and movie screenings. tall by 30 feet (9 m) wide rock climbing wall gymnastics and dance training and competition center
• A membership based fitness center that includes group classes such as Yoga and Pilates.
• A sports performance center complete with a physical therapy / orthopedic physicians practice and highly skilled trainers for the most competitive of athletes. mezzanine and sports bar that overlook both hockey rinks and the hardwood courts
• “Main Street” walkway that includes a full service food concessions that feature famous food items from famous eateries from around Brooklyn as well as retail and a media wall.

Open from 9 am to 12 pm Monday through Saturday
closed on Sundays

Programs

Aviator Sports and Events Center hosts a diverse array of programs to accommodate a wide range of interests for users of all ages. Their venues support participatory activities such as gymnastics, cheerleading, dance, figure skating, recreational ice skating, rock climbing, basketball, volleyball, hockey, soccer, flag football, and lacrosse.

Strategic relationships

• Consessionaire of National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/, servicing Floyd Bennett Field area of Gateway National Recreation Area, http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/aviation/flo.htm
• Aviator Sports and Recreation has a relationship with a 501(c)(3), which provides opportunities and resources for youth and their families to participate in recreational, educational, and sports based camps, clinics, and leagues.

Tenants

• Brooklyn Aviators - ice hockey team of the Federal Hockey League
  Federal Hockey League
  The Federal Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league with teams in the Northeastern United States and Ontario. The FHL began operations in November 2010. Don Kirnan serves as the league's first commissioner....
  
  
• New York Sharks
  New York Sharks
  The New York Sharks are a women's American football team playing out of New York City. They are a member of the Women's Football Alliance...
  
   - women's football
  Women's American football
  Women have begun playing full-contact American football. Most leagues play by the same rules as their male counterparts, with one exception: women's leagues use a slightly smaller football. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States...
  
   team of the Independent Women's Football League
  Independent Women's Football League
  The Independent Women's Football League was founded in 2000, and began play in 2001.IWFL founders began with the goal to establish a quality women's football league that would be respected as the top level of women's tackle football in the world....
  
  
• St. Francis Terriers men's soccer
  St. Francis Terriers men's soccer
  The St. Francis Terrier men's soccer team represents St. Francis College, which is located in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The team was founded in 1968 and joined the Northeast Conference in 1985, cementing its Division I soccer team. The Terriers play their home games at the Aviator Sports Complex...
  
  - men's Division I collegiate soccer team from St. Francis College
• Empire State Demon Knights - Men's semi-professional football Five Star Football League

External links

• Gateway National Recreation Area website at www.nps.gov/gate
• Aviator Sports and Recreation website at www.aviatorsports.com