One way or another, the South Shore Sports Center will be back up and running following last week’s huge four-alarm fire that tore apart the hub for community unity in Hingham.

“If you look inside, it’s devastating,” owner Liz Lima told the Herald on Tuesday, while taking a peek at the debris piles scattered across one of the facility’s turf soccer fields.

The 56,400 square-foot building has always been a part of Lima’s life in some fashion. Despite uncertainty surrounding the immediate path forward structurally for the center, she has vowed that it will be rebuilt and be “bigger and better.”

“For a lot of us, for multiple decades, we get in our car and drive to the Sports Center,” Lima said. “Driving to an alternative office location feels not right. It’s so early on that we have no idea what it means. Can we rebuild piece by piece? Do we redo all of it?”

Hingham Deputy Fire Chief David Levenson said last Friday, after firefighters extinguished the massive blaze, that the building was “probably a total loss.” He anticipated the complex would have to be demolished.

Investigation into the extent of the fire’s damage remains ongoing, Lima said. She added that the summer is typically a quiet time at the center for club soccer operations and other uses, with camps and trainings being conducted at outdoor fields in the area.

In the aftermath, the community has rallied together. People have offered warehouse and office space and other support in “so many ways,” including a group of volunteers dropping off lunch for staffers on Monday, Lima said.

“For us, it’s much more than a physical loss,” she said. “It’s a huge emotional loss, but there’s a little bit of comfort in knowing that it’s an emotional loss for so many in the community.”

The center, which Lima’s family has operated for over two decades, before purchasing it in 2020, is home to lacrosse, soccer, baseball and basketball. It also includes an indoor playground for youngsters, a full bar, concession stand and storefront.

The premier South Shore Select Club is based out of the center, hosting 2,000 members, Lima said. Peak season for the center and club is during the colder months, when outdoor activity shifts indoors.

“This was our home,” Lima said. “These are our offices. This is where we met for pizza. This is where we had team meetings. This is where we may do some small group training and work with the kids in the offseason.”

“We will certainly miss it if it’s not rebuilt by then,” she added, “but we have contingency plans already set up for the wintertime.”

The Hingham Fire Department responded to the facility on Recreation Park Drive, near Route 3, last Thursday night around 11, after receiving a fire alarm system activation.

Firefighters “encountered a heavy volume of fire throughout,” upon arrival, battling the harsh flames into the early morning hours. Officials stayed at the scene to contain smoldering hot spots hours after the blaze was extinguished.

The center had closed well beforehand, with club soccer teams scattered throughout the country for playoff tournaments, Lima said. About 30 staffers remained in Hingham, continuing operations and overseeing a camp earlier in the day.

“It’s been such a relief to know that none of our customers were inside,” she said, “we were closed at the time, none of our employees were inside, and that no firefighters were injured.”

Liz Lima (L), owner of SSSC, gets a hug from a coach after the South Shore Sports Center burned in a 4 alarm fire last week. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
Extensive damage after the South Shore Sports Center burned in a 4 alarm fire last week. (Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)