Schafer Sports' owners cut the ribbon in front of their new facility Friday.
EWING -- Schafer Sports unveiled its new facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning following years of obstacles delayed the realization of the owners' vision, they said.
"This facility is proof that dreams can happen," Shannon Schafer, who owns Schafer Sports with her husband, Jonathan, said.
"It can happen. There was a year or two [during the process] that I wavered a bit, but I persevered. The possibilities here are endless."
The $5-million facility is 38,000 square feet and has a warm-water swimming pool, an indoor turf field, two party rooms and gymnastics equipment.
Schafer Sports say they work to build children's self-esteem by trying different sports, and they say they are the only local organization to train children with special needs in both gymnastics and swimming.
"Schafer Sports has been a place where my child is not judged, but loved," Pennington resident Sue Russo, who has sent her daughter to Schafer Sports for seven years, said.
"Shannon innately understands what my daughter needs and delivers. I feel grateful for Shannon and her love and support of my daughter," Russo said.
Jonathan and Shannon Schafer, Pennington residents, began looking for property to expand The Schafer School of Gymnastics, in Lawrence, back in 2003.
However, by the time the pair was ready, the economy crashed. "My best quality is persistence," Jonathan Schafer said.
Once the Schafers received financing, the organization officially broke ground on the facility last August, and in less than a year, Schafer Sports Center has become a reality.
"I'm still just totally spent and exhausted, so it hasn't sunk in yet," Jonathan Schafer said. "I'll start feeling good when there are kids in here. I'm just relieved that the facility is up, so now I can get back to doing what I'm best at."
The Schafers plan to officially open Schafer Sports Center on August 2, though the facility is still awaiting some finishing touches.
When they do, they will close down the Lawrence location on Princeton Avenue.
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