{"id":94669,"date":"2026-01-09T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94669\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T12:05:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:05:08","slug":"ocean-breeze-indoor-track-and-field-facility-recreation-center-celebrates-10th-season-in-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/94669\/","title":{"rendered":"Ocean Breeze indoor track and field facility, recreation center celebrates 10th season in operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 Staten Island is home to world-class pizzerias, green spaces, and historic sites, and over the past decade, the Ocean Breeze Park Track & Field Athletic Complex has emerged as one of the globe\u2019s premier indoor track facilities\u2014celebrating its 10th anniversary this winter.<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, Ocean Breeze has hosted hundreds of high school meets, staged the pinnacle of national competition with the USATF Indoor Championships, and strengthened the community through recreational programs and special events, including the FDNY Promotion Ceremony for Fire Officers.<\/p>\n

Ocean Breeze Administrator Lauren Primerano said that from the start, \u201cthe whole goal was to be able to provide New Yorkers with an elite indoor track and field facility\u201d \u2014 and it\u2019s clear that she and her colleagues have more than delivered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a World Athletics\u2013certified venue. From the very beginning, our goal was to operate at the highest level, and I believe we have been very successful. We have been able to host high-quality events on a national scale, and producing at this level has always been one of our main objectives,” she continued.<\/p>\n

\"USATFDonavan Brazier of Portland-based Team Julian was one of the winners at a popup meet Friday with Oregon Track Club Elite. (Derek Alvez\/Staten Island Advance\/File)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

To Primerano\u2019s point, track and field\u2019s top athletes, including Olympian Quincy Wilson and NCAA champion Katelyn Tuohy, have praised<\/a> the quality of the facility and its surrounding neighborhood, highlighting the exceptional competitive environment that Ocean Breeze provides.<\/p>\n

In addition to elevating competition at the professional level, Ocean Breeze has become a key host site for local high school meets, including the CHSAA Intersectional Championships, the PSAL Borough Championships, and the upcoming storied Millrose Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh school [competition] is definitely one of our main focuses, and we aim to provide those student-athletes with events that run at the highest caliber,\u201d Primerano shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to give the student-athletes an opportunity to compete at their highest level and reach their potential, which can then help them progress to the next level \u2014 college recruitment, attending colleges, and having the ability to showcase their skill sets and develop to the full level of their potential,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ocean Breeze has also been highly successful in teaching youth athletes about everything the sport of track and field has to offer, primarily through its elite youth club team and various development programs.<\/p>\n

\"2025Mike Maresca of Monsignor Farrell leads off the Lions’ 4×800 with a 1:59.78 split at the CHSAA Intersectional Championships from the Ocean Breeze Track and Field Complex on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Staten Island Advance\/Jason Paderon)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the secondary goals we had was to make sure that the building was also available for developing youth programs such as the Ocean Breeze WaveRunners and our Track and Field 101 program, which introduces local children to the sport of track and field,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also started hosting the USA Track and Field Youth Championships around when the facility opened, which we are hosting again this year and which will be our ninth time hosting the event,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Primerano also pointed out that a unique common thread among all levels of competition is that the complex has earned SafeSport recognition, an organization<\/a> \u201ccommitted to building a sport community where participants can work and learn together free of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse and misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fully follow the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which I think is really unique for Ocean Breeze \u2014 or for any facility, for that matter \u2014 because we make sure we keep the athletes and kids safe, that we\u2019re running a safe environment, and that things are the way they should be,” she explained.<\/p>\n

But Ocean Breeze isn\u2019t just for elite high school and pro track athletes, as Primerano also noted that \u201cwe also really wanted to focus on recreation and group fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, in alignment with track and field, everything is about living healthy lifestyles. For us, it was important to allow the community to use the facility to achieve those goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have members who have been with us since we opened and have gone through amazing transformations \u2014 some who couldn\u2019t walk a lap on the track are now doing miles a day. Engaging the community and making them feel part of what we do has been really important, as has applying what we know from track and field to how we serve them.”<\/p>\n

Primerano further explained why Parks was eager to open a facility like Ocean Breeze on Staten Island rather than in other boroughs, noting that local advocacy played a major role in its construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore my time here, a few dedicated individuals advocated for a track facility in Staten Island, recognizing that local children had to travel to Manhattan to compete and lacked indoor training opportunities. Their efforts evolved from plans for a flat track with a bubble to a banked track, eventually shaping the facility into what it is today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lastly, when asked about her team\u2019s goals for the next 10 years, she said a primary objective will be to \u201ckeep the facility modern.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OceanThe Ocean Breeze WaveRunners had a terrific showing in the 2022 USATF Indoor Nationals on their home turf. (Photo courtesy of the WaveRunners)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re currently upgrading the facility with new scoreboards and installing the Wavelight system next month, along with updating our timing system and technology. Our focus is on staying at the forefront, ensuring communication with the public and athletes is top-level, and evolving the facility alongside the sport,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

Whether attending a high school meet, watching the world\u2019s top track and field athletes, or participating in a workout class, Ocean Breeze has become a cornerstone of the Staten Island athletic community \u2014 and looks set to remain so for decades more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 Staten Island is home to world-class pizzerias, green spaces, and historic sites, and over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135,44297],"class_list":["post-94669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news","tag-usatf-indoor-championships-2019"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}