WORTHINGTON — The sky’s the limit for possible uses for Worthington’s new JBS Field House. And if you run out of ideas, just ask Field House manager Cory Greenway for some more.

“No matter what you can conceive for a large open space, we can probably accommodate it,” Greenway said one recent afternoon while seated in a corner and looking west across the Field House’s green carpeted primary space. Already, local spring pre-season sports practices have taken full advantage of the spacious area, and even when divided into halves, golf and baseball teams can comfortably hold their practices there at the same time.

Obviously, the Field House is a dream come true for spring sports athletes waiting impatiently for better outdoor practice weather. But potentially, there’s so much more to it than that.

“Anything you can imagine doing outside,” Greenway said, can be accomplished in the Field House.

Anything?

Well, maybe not ice hockey. There is no ice, so skating would be a problem. The main arena is laid down with a synthetic carpet which is great for fielding baseballs and softballs, and also great for hitting plastic golf balls off of. But if you wanted to practice your slap shot, you’d have to switch to field hockey.

Greenway and his assistant, Erin Robinson, already have a lot of equipment on hand, useful for the playing of bocce ball, spikeball, kanjem, cornhole, lacrosse, badminton, tennis, the afore-mentioned field hockey, and more.

You may not know what spikeball and kanjem are, but you can always learn.

Don’t want to learn? OK, maybe instead you’d like to try sepak takraw, which is a kind of kick volleyball sport.

“We’d just need to get a ball. It’s essentially volleyball played with your feet,” Greenway explained.

Sepak takraw may not be the sport of choice for senior citizens who’ve taken up with pickleball, but pickleball is indeed viable in the Field House. The ball might not bounce on the polyester weave artificial turf in quite the same way as it does on more traditional surfaces, but with a little practice the game can be enjoyed by anyone.

The Field House is perfect for wiffle ball. Why not organize a wiffle ball tournament in February? Is your church looking for something new? How about a church wiffle ball league?

Play rugby, kickball, and dodgeball. Handball, disc golf, even drone racing.

Of course, the facility doesn’t need to be limited to sports. Concerts can be held at the location on Second Avenue at the bottom of the hill from the fire hall near Lake Okabena. It can be perfect for corporate events, birthday parties, daycare outings and family reunions — bring your inflatable bouncy houses, too.

Greenway said the Field House can serve as a back-up location for Windsurfing Regatta musical events (for the music, that is … installing a lake could be problematic).

Dog shows? Why not? They’re often staged indoors, anyway.

And hunting-related events with or without dogs.

Trade shows, too. Greenway believes the Field House could easily handle ice fishing trade shows. Besides, it’s only a short walk from there to the lake.

International events? Sure. Senior events? Of course. And not just for Worthington. Area towns are welcome to reserve use of the facility.

Construction on the entire structure is ongoing, but there’s much more to the Field House than its biggest section.

Attached office, recreational and viewing spaces will include unique playground equipment. Giant foam building blocks have already been received and are awaiting their special space. Plenty of seating and tables will be installed for the viewing of events and for the sharing of refreshments.

Greenway sees the entire building as a great selling point for Worthington itself, and for a wider audience nearby.

And it’s only going to get better. Opened to temporary occupancy in February, the facility quickly grew to about six hours of daily use. Once fully open, it is hoped that it will be used on most afternoons and some mornings, and for as long as 9 o’clock at night.

Who knows how popular it will ultimately become?

“The best thing that can happen is to have an overwhelming use and want for it. And in a couple of years, maybe we’ll need to secure more funds and decide if we want to build another space, and where would that be?” Greenway said.