The Bridge Sports Complex General Manager Droo Callahan recently spoke to City Council during a work session about the growth and continued rise in popularity the Citynet Center and entire complex continue to enjoy.

 

Callahan said they have reached the point to where people are seeking them out to have events there instead of the other way around as word or mouth has helped The Bridge become a prime destination for a variety of things to do.

 

While the popularity grows, so does that amount of activities one can find at The Bridge.

 

From January of 2022 through June of 2022, The Bridge was host to 22 events. That number will increase during the same time frame in 2023.

 

“Through this June, we have 33 events scheduled,” Callahan said. “I love having different events, it’s not just baseball, it’s not just basketball. We have some wrestling tournaments that have come into the equation.”

 

One such wrestling tournament was the recent Bridgeport Brawl youth tournament that had taken place at Meadowbrook Mall the past several years.

 

Callahan said the Citynet Center has also brought in cheer events that have been successful and are looking to bringing in a new demographic when they introduce new line cage fighting later this year.

 

Club teams also continue to grow at The Bridge.

 

According to Callahan, in conjunction with an arrangement with Fairmont State University, there are 200 swimmers involved at the club level. With volleyball there are now 10 teams with 100 total players.

 

Lacrosse will join The Bridge’s roster of club sports this spring as Mountain State Lacrosse will become Mountain State Storm Lacrosse with The Bridge Sports Complex serving as their home.

 

“Eventually, we will get to the point where we will have lacrosse tournaments here,” Callahan said.

 

The Bridge hosted 113 birthday parties in the first six months of the fiscal year and Callahan said there is no signs of those slowing down. Field trips to The Bridge also continue to grow and Callahan said there are 7,000 booked through June of 2023.

 

As far as other community-based events, the plan is for the Carl Hopkins Aviation Expo to return for a third consecutive year this summer and in November there are plans of introducing a zombie 5K.

 

“(Parks and Recreation Director) Joe (Shuttleworth) and I have created a whole other wing that will work on non sports events,” Callahan said. “How can we capture people who don’t play baseball, football, basketball and get them to come enjoy our facility and our community?”

 

In April, the concession stand menu at The Bridge will expand to include a bacon BBQ burger and recently they have added the ability to make online purchases for concessions in advance – something designed to help control the lines when there are large crowds on hand.

 

“We are really good at bringing people here,” Callahan said. “We are not good at monetizing people when they are here, that’s why we now have an apparel wing where online sales will also be available.”

 

Callahan said he was excited to see the programming that the Bridge offers continue to grow. He said summer camps generated $12,000 more dollars from year one to year two and they expect that to continue to grow.

 

Rec basketball is so popular they had to cap it at 350 participants.

 

Callahan said when the launched rec volleyball they expected 40 people to sign up. They instead got 100 and the rec volleyball league is already feeding the club volleyball system above it.

 

The Lil’ Trolls programs and swim lessons also show steady growth according to Callahan.

 

Perhaps the program Callahan is most excited about is a relatively new one, Winter Games.

 

“Winter Games is a really fun one,” he said. “Most sports facilities focus on that 10 and down age group. Winter Games is our first program for middle school kids. We had 22 kids sign up and it has been phenomenal.”

 

Adult leagues also continue to gain in popularity. Callahan said they have anywhere between 22 and 24 basketball teams and the most recent session featured 12 volleyball teams.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Callahan speaking at a City Council work session. Middle and bottom photos courtesy of The Bridge's Facebook page show patrons taking advantage of the Citynet Center's volleyball and basketball courts.