The Lehighton Athletic Booster Club would like to construct a building complete with a wrestling room, basketball court, and refreshment stand at Baer Memorial Park.

At the present time it is only a proposal, but club president Frank Bortnick asked borough council if it would consider providing a piece of ground at Baer Memorial for the project. He said the concept involves possibly a 140-by-100 or 120-by-120 foot structure.The council took no formal action on the proposal, except for councilman Darry Arner stating, "Possibly we could work together."Council President Grant Hunsicker told Bortnick, "We would like to commend you for taking such an interest in youths."No timetable was given for such a project.Bortnick said the reason for wanting such a structure is because presently the club shares facilities with the Lehighton Area School District and sometimes basketball events aren't over until 10 p.m. "That's not good for the kids," he said.He said there wouldn't be any cost to the borough or taxpayers for the project. The club has some money in a special fund. It would hold fundraisers and seek donations. It also would take responsibility for maintenance and operating costs."You realize you're talking about a tremendous amount of money for construction and on-going for continual operation," said councilman John Bird. He advised that grant money is getting more difficult to obtain.Bortnick responded that he realizes this, adding, "We're not asking for anything more than a little piece of land.""Something like this in Lehighton would be phenomenal," said Bortnick, adding that maybe other sports genres could utilize it such baseball teames for indoor practice.He said to the council, "Show me what our next step will be if there is one."