Massive Indoor Sports Complex at Cape May Airport Clears Major Hurdle

LOWER TOWNSHIP — A massive indoor sports complex planned for Cape May Airport has cleared a major local approval hurdle, moving a project years in the making significantly closer to construction.

The Lower Township Planning Board unanimously granted conditional site plan approval July 16 for the Aviation Sports Complex, a proposed 100,000-square-foot domed facility designed to provide year-round space for youth and adult athletics while potentially drawing tournaments and visitors to Cape May County.

Developers say construction could begin within the next several months, with the facility potentially opening next winter.

The project is being developed by Aviation Sports Complex LLC, led by business partners James “Jamie” Sutton III and Robert “Bob” Buglak.

Plans call for a dome measuring approximately 250 feet wide, 400 feet long and 75 feet high, along with a 15,000-square-foot welcome center.

Inside, the complex is expected to accommodate soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, football and other turf sports, along with basketball, volleyball and pickleball. Plans have called for enough hard-court space to accommodate as many as 22 pickleball courts.

Golf simulators, jujitsu and wellness areas, food service, retail space, locker rooms and areas for birthday parties, team functions and other events are also envisioned.

Engineers have said the air-supported dome would be designed to withstand wind gusts of up to 160 mph and as much as 3 feet of snow.

Born From Long Drives for Youth Sports

Sutton has said the idea grew partly out of personal experience.

Both developers had children involved in athletics and became familiar with the long drives families routinely make to find indoor facilities, particularly during the offseason.

Sutton told the Ocean City Sentinel last year that his three children were involved in different sports, forcing the family to travel extensively.

“I’ve been at every basketball court, I’ve been at the soccer field,” Sutton said. “It’s just crazy.”

Buglak encountered similar issues after moving to South Jersey and talking with local coaches and club-team directors.

“There’s nothing here,” Sutton said coaches told his business partner, particularly when it came to indoor offseason space.

The goal is to give Cape May County athletes an alternative to traveling to facilities in North Jersey, Pennsylvania and elsewhere while also creating a venue capable of hosting larger tournaments.

When the Delaware River and Bay Authority initially announced the project in January 2024, Sutton called an indoor facility “much-needed” in the region.

Project Has Grown Since 2024

The project has evolved considerably since it was first publicly announced.

The DRBA Commission initially approved a lease agreement in January 2024 for what was then envisioned as an approximately 80,000-square-foot indoor sports complex.

Plans now call for a 100,000-square-foot dome in addition to the 15,000-square-foot welcome center.

Last fall, Sutton estimated the total cost of getting the facility operational at approximately $7 million. At the time, he estimated about $2.2 million for the dome itself and roughly $2 million for construction of the welcome center, with the remainder covering site work, parking, stormwater management and other expenses.

The final price could change as the project moves toward construction.

Why Cape May Airport?

The complex is planned for approximately seven acres at Cape May Airport, 409 Breakwater Road.

The airport location solved one of the biggest problems the developers encountered while searching for property.

Sutton said purchasing a separate parcel elsewhere in Cape May County could have subjected the development to a lengthy Coastal Area Facility Review Act, or CAFRA, approval process.

The airport property has a CAFRA exemption, making development there more practical.

The location also places the facility within relatively easy driving distance of the county's Shore communities, an important consideration if the complex succeeds in attracting regional tournaments.

Under a lease approved by the DRBA in 2024, Aviation Sports Complex agreed to pay annual rent of 25 cents per square foot for approximately seven acres. The agreement also calls for annual rent increases and a payment to the authority if the sports facility is eventually sold.

The project has received support from organizations and individuals including the Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce and area athletic officials.

County Has Stake in Facility

Cape May County also has a significant interest in the project.

In 2025, county officials moved away from plans for a separate county sports complex at Cape May County Park East that had been estimated to cost approximately $28 million.

Instead, the county opted to secure access to the privately developed airport facility.

The county agreed to commit $1 million over 10 years for use of space at the Aviation Sports Complex, potentially giving county programs and residents access to the new facility while avoiding the much larger cost of constructing a separate county-owned complex.

The arrangement could also give the facility a broader role beyond tournaments and club sports.

Sutton previously said developers were discussing opportunities involving local teams, special-needs students and senior citizens.

Sports Tourism Could Be Another Benefit

The economic impact could extend beyond the athletes who use the building.

Indoor youth tournaments can bring hundreds of athletes and family members into an area for an entire weekend, generating business for hotels, restaurants and other establishments.

That could be particularly valuable in Cape May County during the fall, winter and spring, when tourism drops sharply from its summer peak.

The developers have said from the project's early stages that they hope to attract national and potentially international sporting events in addition to serving local athletes.

The facility is also expected to include technology allowing games to be streamed, with developers previously discussing video systems that could give parents remote access to games and provide recruiting footage for athletes hoping to compete at the college level.

The Lower Township approval does not mean bulldozers will arrive immediately. The approval is conditional, and the project must still satisfy remaining engineering and regulatory requirements before construction begins.

But after more than two years of planning, changes and delays, the Planning Board vote represents one of the most significant steps yet toward turning the giant dome from a proposal into reality.