The Rothman Orthopaedic Sports Complex at the John Bennett Athletic Center, commonly known as "The Bubble", has received some major work over the offseason.
Visitors and athletes will not only see a brand new track surface and layout changes, but an entirely new "Bubble" as the original main structure has been removed and replaced. A process that began back in early July, utilizing the expertise of American Athletic Track and Turf as well as Beynon Sports Track Surfacing.
The Toms River based sports complex, which has hosted New Jersey track and field meets since 2007, is home to almost the entirety of the NJSIAA State Championship meets, including State Relays, Sectionals, and Group Championships, as well as a large number of invitationals and local championships. For the NJSIAA series, only the Meet of Champions takes place elsewhere at Ocean Breeze in Staten Island, NY.
NJ MileSplit was able to tour the new track and layout thanks to the Facility Foreman, John Bisciotti, who's been in the district for 30 years and has been maintaining the Bubble since before it even opened to competition when it was built in 2006. "I'm excited about it," Bisciotti stated as we ended our tour, "I've been here since the original bubble was built nearly 20 years ago, it's nice to see." We would like to thank the Site Director, Kyle Austin, for helping set up an advanced look at the finished product as well.
The blue and grey track and surrounding resurfaced flooring are an obvious change as you step through those familiar revolving doors. However, there are a few more layout alterations to cover. A second permanent shot put circle has been installed, which brings hope that all shot put competitions can stay within the Bubble itself.
The sand pit and runway, for the long and triple jump events, have also been moved to the back corner where the long gone scoreboard once stood, with the runway parallel to the short far end of the Bubble. This solves the issue where the old runway ran across the track, barring the jumping events from taking place during track events on the oval.
Along with improved lighting, there is now a skylight layer in the middle of the ceiling to allow some more natural lighting to occur during daytime hosted events. An army of 20 hanging speakers has also been installed around the complex, hoping to improve communication and award announcements throughout an event.
The walls have also been insulated this time around, so temperatures should remain more consistent and comfortable.
Storage in the back corner, where the new sand pit is located, has also been removed, and the plan is for event clerking to take place in this area instead of the tight walkway along turn one.
While the track surface itself had been replaced before, this is the most extensive rework of the location since its construction nearly two decades ago.
The first competition scheduled on the new surface takes place this week, including the Rebel Shot/Field Series on December 10th, the STCA Season Opener on December 11th, SJTCA #1 on December 12th, and the Demarest Invitational on December 13th.
