{"id":381515,"date":"2026-06-08T13:30:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/?p=381515"},"modified":"2026-06-08T15:10:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:10:09","slug":"caine-halter-family-ymca-breaks-ground-on-sports-field-parking-lot-renovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greenvillejournal.com\/news\/caine-halter-family-ymca-breaks-ground-on-sports-field-parking-lot-renovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Caine Halter Family YMCA breaks ground on sports field, parking renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

A $2.4 million outdoor renovation project has kicked off at the Caine Halter Family YMCA in Greenville.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Long-awaited upgrades are being made to one of the branch\u2019s youth sports fields and the parking lot over the summer. YMCA staff, board members, donors and community supporters celebrated the start of renovations at a groundbreaking ceremony on June 8. The Caine Halter Family YMCA is located at 721 Cleveland St. in Greenville.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The facility\u2019s youth sports fields sit at the lowest elevation on the 26-acre campus, often becoming waterlogged from stormwater runoff after heavy rain. Jaime Johnson, executive director of the Caine Halter Family YMCA, said water can sit on the fields for up to two weeks, resulting in canceled practices and postponed games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The renovation project will solve this problem by raising the sports fields, creating an underground stormwater retention pond and adding new artificial turf. This will ensure the field can be used year-round. The parking lot will also be extended next to the sports field, creating 110 additional parking spaces for families and spectators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the field upgrades, it will also be able to serve more children through its youth sports program. Sam Franklin, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greenville, said the nonprofit organization has doubled the size of its youth sports programming since 2017. Approximately 13,000 children were served in the YMCA\u2019s youth sports program in the past year, with ongoing waitlists.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince COVID, we\u2019ve had 200 plus kids on the waitlist for spring and fall soccer, probably another 100 in flag football,\u201d Franklin said. \u201cIt was because of the field, we just didn\u2019t have the space.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The enhanced sports field will allow for six new youth soccer teams for the age group with the greatest demand: children ages three to seven. More than 120 additional boys and girls will be able to participate in the branch\u2019s sports programming. Johnson said the improvements would also allow the branch to potentially add new adult sports programs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The youth sports field and parking lot renovations represent the latest project of the Caine Halter Family YMCA\u2019s $8.5 million \u201cBuilding a Brighter Tomorrow\u201d capital campaign. The public phase of the capital campaign <\/span>kicked off in October 2023<\/span><\/a>. Since then, the campaign has raised $6.7 million and supported several other improvement projects at the 66-year-old branch, including:<\/span><\/p>\n