Bruno Machado and his wife, Joelle, moved to the area from Texas more than 10 years ago and noticed the need for indoor sports facilities in the region.

Their daughters played club volleyball tournaments at sites Bruno thought were “subpar.”

“We were involved with organizations that had a hard time finding space for practice — there’s a need for it,” he said. “We went to some facilities that, in my view, were subpar. Families are up against the wall trying to watch their kids play sports from clear across the gym.”

In early 2022, the Manteca residents will open their privately-financed Courtside Sports complex (450 Commerce Court) located behind Home Depot at the Spreckels Park Retail Shopping Center. After months of delays — and material price increases — stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the Machados received the long-awaited permits from the City of Manteca to begin construction on their 25,714-square-foot project. Dirt moving began last Thursday, July 8, and Bruno anticipates a seven-month build time and a grand opening in February.

Machado originally planned a groundbreaking event but has been in and out of town working as an airline pilot. He did not want to delay any further.

“We’re excited to get this started,” he said. “We were in position financially to bring this to Manteca by selling some of our real-estate investments for this project. We want to give back to the community and have a place where families can spend time together like we did with our daughters.”

Courtside Sports will have 21,000 square feet of playing surface, enough to cover three high school-sized basketball courts or five volleyball courts. Machado said club basketball and volleyball teams have already been in contact to reserve practice space. He added that the facility is ideal for other indoor sports such as cheer and wrestling and is open to teams at the youth, high school and adult levels.

“I know these other sports are interested,” he said. He has been asked if he could host futsal tournaments, for example. “We’ll try to accommodate what we can.”

The solar-powered and climate-controlled building will include a lobby, concession area, an event room, two offices and a storage space. The spacious facility will accommodate spectators with padded courtside seats and portable bleachers.

Operating hours are tentatively set for 3 p.m. to midnight on weekdays, 9 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Weekday hours may be extended for summertime, and open gym sessions will be available throughout the year.

Courtside Sports has a preliminary website (courtsidesportsmanteca.business.site) that Machado expects to be fully operational within the next two months. He said teams may start booking their reservations then.

He can’t wait to start serving the community.

“This was something we could bring to Manteca and we’re 5 minutes away from the facility,” Machado said. “We found a lot at a discount behind Home Depot and we couldn’t pass it up. I’ve done some real estate investing before, but this is more of a passion — I love sports.”