Aviator Sports and Events Center is a sports and events center in Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York City. Operating as a concessionaire of National Park Service, Aviator has refurbished four historic aircraft hangars and surrounding grounds in partnership with the NPS. The area includes 175,000 square feet of indoor sports and event space along with adjoining outdoor turf fields and free parking for 2,000 cars. Aviator provides a variety of sports and leagues play including basketball, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, ice skating, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball. Activities such as parties, field trips, camps, and birthday celebrations are held at the facility. The NPS and Aviator formed a partnership in 2003, and the facility opened in 2006. By combining several of Floyd Bennett Field's hangars, they created one of the largest sports complexes in the country.

Facilities

The Aviator Complex contains ice skating rinks within two of the hangars. The other two hangars contain a field house, a gymnastics and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

complex, and a fitness center totaling more than , as well as a 6,000-seat football field outside. Aviator's Sports Facilities include: *Two synthetic turf outdoor fields *Outdoor event space *Two indoor ice rinks * field house with hardwood floor, climbing wall and turf field * Gymnastics Center * Fitness center *Arcade *Food court *Indoor and Outdoor Sports Bar *Full catering and food service *Large corporate meeting and private events rooms Aviator Sports and Events Center hosts programs and activities including camps, birthday parties, field trips, and sporting meets. The complex also hosts sporting events and shows throughout the year, and the occasional air show. Once inside the indoor entrance to the center, an entire inner wall tribute several stories high is dedicated to the history of

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

which took place on the site of the sports facility and the people of flight who made Bennett Field famous. These include Wiley Post, the first pilot to solo around the world, who flew around the world from the field and returned to it in 7 days 19 hours and 49 minutes in July 1933; and billionaire Howard Hughes, who flew around the world from Floyd Bennett Field in July 1938 and returned to it with a crew of four men in 3 days, 19 hours, 8 minutes, 10 seconds to collect important navigational data.

Events

Since 2011, Aviator Sports and Events Center has become a prominent location for obstacle races and expos in New York City. Events that have taken place through a rental agreement include
Rugged ManiacBig Bounce AmericaNight Nation RunSneaker Exit

UniverSoul Circus The UniverSoul Circus is a single ring circus, established in 1994 by Cedric Walker and Calvin "Casual Cal" Dupree, an African-American man who had a vision of creating a circus with a large percentage of people of color performing. He began se ...

St. Jude's Kids for Kids FundraiserTomato BattleCivilian Military Combine
weddings, and more.

Strategic relationships

* Concessionaire of National Park Servicebr>
servicing Floyd Bennett Field area of Gateway National Recreation Area

Tenants

* ASA College#Athletics Programs, ASA College Soccer * Berkeley College Men's & Women's Soccer teams * Bishop Ford High School Football & Soccer teams
Brooklyn Lacrosse ClubBlau Weiss Gottschee Soccer ClubDutch Total Soccer
* FA Euro, member of the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educator ...

Men's & Women's Soccer teams *Mendy Kolko Football
Metro Fighting Moose Hockey Team
* New York Empire, member of the American Ultimate Disc League
New York Aviators Hockey Team
* New York Sharks, member of the Independent Women's Football League *

NYU-Poly The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...

Men's & Women's Soccer & Women's Lacrosse
SABA Youth Soccer
* St. Ann's School Soccer * Xavier High School Football and Soccer *Multiple semi pro football teams

Historical footage

* Howard Hughes rare airplane silent black and white video footage taking off with his team on his historical round the flight from Floyd Bennett Field * Howard Hughes rare silent black and white video footage landing at Floyd Bennett Field and being interviewed after a 10½ hour nonstop transatlantic flight

References

External links