Plan for bar, sports complex touted
$4.5M facility would be a boon for West Carrollton, official says.
A proposed WEST CARROLLTON —
$4.5 million volleyball complex with a restaurant and bar could bring hundreds of people to West Carrollton a day and be “a big win for the region,” a city official says.
The 82,000-square-foot facility would be on seven acres West Carrollton is looking to sell to a Cincinnati business wanting to build 17 indoor/outdoor sand volleyball courts on land formerly occupied by a paper mill in the heart of the city.
The deal calling for Spike-it LCC to buy the land for $280,000 could eventually add 50 jobs and attract 300 to 500 people a night to now
vacant land where Fraser Paper once stood at 200 W. Central Ave., said West Carrollton Economic Development Director Michael Lucking.
“It’s a first-class operation,” Lucking said. “It’s a big win for the community, and it’s a big win for the region.”
The proposal is one of two key redevelopment issues set to go before West Carrollton City Council tonight. The other calls for the awarding of a contract to demolish the Carrollton Plaza, which sits on land viewed as a future anchor site for the city’s multimillion-dollar Miami Bend Entertainment District off Interstate 75 along the Great Miami River.
The volleyball complex would not be part of the entertainment district, but fits within its philosophy, Lucking said.
“Overall, what we’re trying to do is create opportunity in the community,” he said. “To make it a destination location, which is what the City Council wants . ... It brings traffic to the community. It brings recreation.”
If council approves the Spike-it legislation’s second reading on Nov. 13, the owners plan to have the facility open by Oct. 1, 2019, according to the city.
Initially, the complex would employ 30 to 40 workers, increasing to 50 at peak times, according to the city.
The complex would include nine indoor courts and eight outdoor ones, according to city documents. It would also feature about 350 parking spaces.
The contract calls for a one-year moratorium on the city’s sale of any acreage to another business that operates in the food or beverage industry, according to West Carrollton officials. Spike-It is applying for a D-5 liquor permit, according to West Carrollton Police Department records.
The city aims to address infrastructure improvements along the Central Avenue corridor, “including streetscape and intersection improvements, as well as the installation of on street parking and the addition of a bicycle path,” West Carrollton City Manager Brad Townsend said in a statement Monday.
Spike-it LCC has similar venues, primarily in the Cincinnati area, and is known as “an experienced operator of indoor/outdoor volleyball facilities,” according to the city.
The site’s proximity to I-75 and Dayton area residents’ enthusiasm for volleyball at its current location and other venues is a key factor in the deal, according to Larry Roberts, one of three Spike-it co-owners.
Roberts said the indoor season typically runs from October through April — and the new building would include heat, fans, and large garage doors to regulate airflow.
One Spike-It Cincinnati area website lists summer outdoor leagues that run from June 25 to Aug. 26, fall outdoor leagues from Aug. 27 to Oct. 21 and fall indoor leagues from Oct. 22 to Dec. 21.
The Spike-It business model is built on league-play seven days a week, with operation from approximately 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. on weekdays, with earlier start times on the weekends.