Hamilton turns to sports for town revival
Site poised to become indoor athletic complex
Hamilton, Ohio, has long been a city in search of an identity.
During its heyday, its industries churned out paper, and it was home to a company that produced safes that could withstand a nuclear blast. But as demand for paper and bombproof safes declined, those industries took Hamilton down with them. What was left of this city of 70,000 along the Great Miami River was then gutted by the Great Recession a decade ago.
Over the years, leaders tried to reinvent the city, sometimes in ways that brought more ridicule than redemption.
Hamilton’s city manager, Joshua A. Smith, arrived in 2010 from Howard,
Wisconsin, a bedroom suburb of Green Bay, another struggling Rust Belt city.
“The community lacked any kind of energy,” said Smith, now 47. “It almost felt like the city had given up on itself.”
Perhaps no facility illustrated the city’s fortunes more than Champion Paper’s empty plant, which had closed in 2012.
Some potential buyers began circling with offers (one out-of-town firm wanted to buy it for cold storage), but Smith saw promise, and the city bought the Champion complex along with its 40 acres of riverfront land for $400,000.
The 1.3-million-square-foot site is poised to become what is being billed as the largest indoor sports complex in North America: Spooky Nook Sports
Champion Mill.
Spooky Nook is an indoor-sports company based in Manheim, Pennsylvania, where its 700,000-square-foot complex draws more than a million visitors a year, bringing in more than $50 million for the local economy, according to Tourism Economics, a travel analytics firm.
Hamilton, through tax breaks and infrastructure upgrades, has provided $20 million in funding for the $170 million Champion Mill complex in the hope that it will have the same draw when it opens in late 2021. To achieve that, the development will go beyond sports to include a fitness center, restaurants, residences and stores. The city estimates it will create 380 permanent jobs.
The shift to sports is a natural fit, said Mayor Pat Moeller, who added that he envisioned legions of tourists visiting Hamilton’s restaurants, bars and shops.
“It will transform us,” he said.
Across the country, youth sports have become big business, and cities often covet the facilities as a way to spur local development and lure out-oftowners.
The industry generates $19 billion in revenue nationally, up from about $9 billion several years ago, said Norm Gill, managing partner of Pinnacle Indoor Sports, a consulting service that has helped build 50 complexes across the country but is not involved in the Spooky Nook project.
“Sports tourism is on steroids,” said Gill, who estimated that each visitor might spend $110 to $180 a day on food, lodging and tickets.
Spooky Nook Sports predicts a million visitors to Hamilton in the first year, a milestone that its facility in Manheim, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, did not reach until its third year.
But the challenge for Hamilton and other cities is the finite supply of children and parents willing to spend many weekends of the year competing in these tournaments.
“You have to have gigantic tournaments to justify this size,” Professor Matheson said.
“A town of 70,000 can’t generate business to keep 700,000 square feet of indoor athletic space occupied. You can shoot baskets in your driveway for free.”
To that end, Hamilton is trying to draw a critical mass of recreation-seekers to complement Spooky Nook. The Pinball Garage recently opened nearby, featuring more than 30 game machines, and Smith, the city manager, has stipulated that Spooky Nook fill the space for restaurants and other amenities with local operators.
Spooky Nook’s founder, Sam Beiler, is not concerned about market saturation. Thirty-five weekends in 2022 are already booked for youth sports tournaments at Champion Mill.