For the first time in its history, Boone will have a permanent indoor soccer venue, providing a year-round gathering place for its growing soccer community.
With a grand opening set for Sunday, the warehouse that formerly housed a leather factory will become Summit Sports, an indoor soccer experience that includes a soccer court, a gym, a sauna, an English-themed pub, a viewing area and more.
The development gives Boone residents and club members an opportunity to play soccer in a climate where snow and ice can blanket local soccer fields for weeks on end, warding off all but the most committed players of the sport.
“Gym space is hard to come by,” said Mike Raymond, general manager of Appalachian Football Club, Boone’s semi-professional soccer team. “Obviously, we have three to four months of this awful weather up here that you can’t do anything outside.”
Interested in expanding their venue to include soccer, Summit Pickleball partnered with both Appalachian FC and a local youth soccer program, High Country Soccer Association.
The usefulness of the Summit facility will expand beyond the winter season, becoming a focal point for both clubs’ operations in Boone, according to Raymond.
“Everything related to High Country Soccer and App FC is here,” he said.
The space also includes office spaces and a merchandise store.
The expansion comes at an important time for Appalachian FC, as it celebrates a promotion to League Two of the United Soccer League, a competitive semi-professional summer league. This is a move which Raymond said “increases social media engagement, marketing dollars” and “sponsorship dollars,” furthering the growth of the former National Premier Soccer League club founded in 2020.
HCSA, a larger youth sports program in Boone, gave the facilities a test run this winter, providing a collection of winter clinics and training in the space. Summit Sports also extended sign-ups to the general public for participation in a five-on-five league.
Junior Rayo Torres, a junior at App State studying health and physical education, joined the league this winter as a goalkeeper, calling it a “great option to play soccer during the offseason.” He sees the facility as something that “brings the soccer community together,” which he attributes to the viewing area with fans who “make the game more intense and fun.”
“Soccer is a big draw for people in the community,” said Crystal Smith, co-owner of both Summit Pickleball and Summit Sports. “If we ended up taking over the other side of the facility, we knew exactly what we’d do with it.”
These changes to the property come months after Summit was approved for outdoor expansion and rezoning by the Boone Town Council this summer, a decision which allowed for additional outdoor pickleball and volleyball courts to be built in the surrounding industrial district, according to the Watauga Democrat.
In addition to the soccer pitch, these changes also include a basketball half-court, a lounge with a projector and TVs, an English pub with shuffleboard and darts, multiple lanes of batting cages, and more.
“We just want to provide something to the community that has been neglected and very much needed for 20 years,” said Smith. “ I can only say follow your dreams.”