Governor Lincoln Chafee was at Quonset Business Park to help break ground on a new Wide World of Indoor Sports (WWIS) complex. The most recent addition to the Quonset Gateway District, the facility will be 76,000 s/f and contain four non-boarded fields with top-of-the-line turf. It will also support between 80-85 full or part-time employees, adding to the more than 8,800 jobs and 168 companies already existing at the Quonset Business Park.
Chafee was joined by members of the WWIS, Quonset Development Corp., the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, the R.I. District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), R.I. Economic Development Corp., BankNewport, Ocean State Business Development Authority and other leaders from business and government.
Construction of the facility is a result of the partnership between the company, Quonset Development Corp. (QDC), R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM), R.I. District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Bank Newport, and the Ocean State Business Development Authority (OSBDA). The complex is the first parcel to be leased and developed under QDC's new "Site Readiness" program which streamlines and expedites permitting in order to provide pad-ready sites within the business park. DEM worked with QDC to ensure that permits were issued to meet environmental requirements in a timely manner to begin development. Financing for the complex was secured through the SBA, Bank Newport and OSBDA.
"The Wide World of Indoor Sports will be a great addition to Quonset," Chafee said.
Stephen Sangermano, owner of WWIS said they chose Quonset because of its new site-readiness options. "We wanted to find a place that would be easily accessible," Sangermano said. "When we learned about how much of the pre-permitting had already been done by the QDC - it was a no brainer. We could not be more excited to be here!"