Despite being a sizable building located just off the main commercial corridor in Murrysville, Jennifer Free said not everyone knows about the Murrysville SportZone.

“Almost every day, at least one person will come in and say, ‘I had no idea this place was here,’” Free said.

As the new general manager for the SportZone, which is marking its 10-year anniversary in 2023, Free is hoping to change that.

“There’s so many opportunities here, whether it’s hosting birthday parties, our sports leagues or just responding to what people want to see,” said Free, 40, a Murrysville resident. “I have a marketing, writing and business background, so a lot of what I’ve been doing since April is program development, observing and listening to feedback.”

From inline hockey and dek hockey to volleyball, flag football and soccer, the SportZone is home to several local athletic leagues for players of all ages. For Free, who had been a SportZone contractor running its women’s hockey league as well as serving as general manager for the USA Ball Hockey Women’s Masters team, it was a natural fit.

“My background was well suited to it,” she said. “I’ve been here for years and it’s everything I love.”

One of the first things Free set about establishing was a more-generalized summer youth program.

“It was April 10, school was almost out, and all I could think was that we don’t have any youth camp programs,” she said. “Murrysville’s recreation department also wasn’t running its summer playground program. We have all this space to run around, and nothing but games. So we started a summer program that has been very well-attended.”

Over the years, the SportZone has added elements like a memorabilia area, and a restaurant area with the recent addition of the Fire N Ice snack bar. It has also served as a venue for several nights of boxing in recent years, with another evening of bouts coming up Sept. 16.

Free also has the advantage of having been a paying customer over the years, “so I’ve heard a lot and thought a lot about what can be done better,” she said. “The most important thing to me is re-energizing the community about what we offer here. Because if people aren’t interested in what we’re offering, there’s no purpose being here.”

For more on SportZone programs, see MurrysvilleSportzone.com.

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