Two London entrepreneurs have partnered with the London International Airport to create Canada’s only purpose-built indoor beach volleyball facility.
The Beach Hangar is set to open in January 2025, so beach sports enthusiasts have a year to build up their anticipation. The project aims to combine beach volleyball, community building and a “play and stay” mindset.
Last year, the Spikes indoor beach volleyball facility announced they would be closing, which left a gap that needed to be filled. London’s public recreation facilities are often criticized for a lack of options or quality, and the Hangar is set to be an innovative solution.
Dave Ward and Kyla Woodcock realized the airport would be the perfect place to build the space. During the COVID pandemic, the airport created a beach volleyball court, which transformed into a skating rink in the winter.
“We knew that they had a great interest in bringing community members out to the airport and that they were using community recreation as a means to do that,” says Woodcock. “So we approached them about this much larger more permanent project.”
Before this project, Ward and Woodcock founded Forest City Sports & Social Club in 2009, and Summit Sports in 2021, so they are aware of London’s need for recreation facilities. The Hangar is designed to meet the growing demand for high-quality volleyball play spaces in London and will feature Ontario’s only tournament-calibre six-court beach facility.
“It’s been a relatively easy and very collaborative process because everybody believes that it’s a great idea and our city needs it,” says Woodcock. “We’ve been getting the support of the LIA and their fantastic board of directors, and then moving that through selection of the building vendors.”
The Hangar will feature 23,000 square feet of play space, 30-foot ceilings, Olympic-grade sand and an abundance of natural light. The facility will be placed within an old airplane hangar to further tie the space into the airport. It’s also designed to support recreational and competitive leagues, national and provincial tournaments, private camps, clinics and drop-in play for all ages.
“It’s going to be a mix of different opportunities for people to come into the building,” says Ward. “Mostly we’ll have folks coming out to play in different leagues, from super recreational, you know, just excited to dive in the sand and have never played before, up to some of our more competitive players we know we have in the city.”
Beyond volleyball, the Hangar will also offer a licensed restaurant and mezzanine, and the courts serve as multipurpose space for various sports. Visitors can play beach soccer, dodgeball, badminton and many more activities. Or they can people watch from the viewing platform on the mezzanine level.
“We’ll have lots of different options to bring people in from the community,” says Ward. “Whether they want to rent it for events or charity tournaments, and it won’t just be volleyball. We’ve seen some cool other programs at other locations around the country and were excited to bring in different options like that.”
The facility being at the airport allows visitors to exercise, enjoy fine dining, spectate or relax between flights in a space that differs from the airport.
“Our vision is to create a vibrant, inclusive environment where athletes of all skill levels can come together to play, socialize, compete, and enjoy the spirit of the game, in a space that is best-in-class,” says Woodcock.
The Hangar also represents a private-public collaboration, bringing together the entrepreneurial experience of Ward and Woodcock, as well as the support of the Greater London International Airport Authority.
“We would love for any and everyone to follow along with the beach hangar build at beachhangar.ca, on Facebook/beachhangar or certainly on Instagram @thehangar,” says Woodcock.
If you’re interested in following the journey and being notified of any developments, click the links above.