Spooky Nook Sports

Spooky Nook

Sports [ Champion Mill ]

For more than three years, Hamilton residents have been watching, with bated breath, the massive construction occurring on North B Street along the Great Miami River. What was formerly the vacant site of the old Champion Paper mill became the groundbreaking site of Spooky Nook Champion Mill in 2018. When construction finishes, Spooky Nook Champion Mill will be the largest sports complex in North America and the third-largest in the world, at 1+ million square feet.

Before 2018, the first and only Spooky Nook Sports complex was in Manheim, Pennsylvania near Lancaster. The "Spooky Nook" name is a reference to Spooky Nook Road, the road on which the Pennsylvania location was built. For the new Hamilton location, “Champion Mill" was added to the name not only to act as a differentiator but also to honor the past and traditions of the region.

Highlights from the Spooky Nook Champion Mill timeline: • November 2016: Hamilton, Ohio is named the frontrunner by the

Spooky Nook Sports developer and majority owner, Sam Beiler, for the new Spooky Nook Sports location, second after Pennsylvania. • October 25, 2018: Crews break ground and begin construction for Spooky Nook Sports complex in Hamilton, two weeks after the

Hamilton City Council approves and signs a development agreement with

Spooky Nook, investing more than $26 million for loans, construction, utility, and road improvements. • January 2019: Hamilton City Council closes parts of Rhea and Warwick avenues near North B Street. Road sections are replaced and referred to as Champion Boulevard. • Mid-March 2019: Hamilton government officials, business owners, and non-profit leaders visit the 700,000-square-foot

Pennsylvania Spooky Nook location. • March 2020: $171 million in financing is secured for Spooky Nook

Champion Mill, in spite of challenges posed by the COVID pandemic and declaration of a national emergency. • June 2020: A large stretch of North

B Street closes for about 600 days to allow construction crews to work on the Spooky Nook Sports Champion

Mill indoor sports complex and convention center. • December 2020: Announcement of a partnership between Spooky Nook

Sports and Kai Sotto, internationally known Filipino professional basketball player, to establish the "Kaiju Academy,” a basketball academy to be housed within the

Hamilton location for mentoring and training young athletes. • March 27, 2021: Strong winds cause damage to the building designated for the Spooky Nook Champion

Mill indoor turf field. All structural steel beams collapse, but no one is injured. • September 2021: Sam Beiler announces that Spooky Nook

Champion Mill is booked every weekend from April to August 2022. • January 2022: Sam Beiler announces

Mill 1, the indoor sports complex part of Spooky Nook Champion Mill, will not open in late March 2022 as anticipated, and Spooky Nook Sports is unable to provide an estimate of when it will happen. Mill 2, the part of the facility known as Champion

Mill Conference Center, remains on schedule with an end-of-March targeted completion date.

MOVING THE GOALPOSTS

In Pennsylvania, hotels and retailers struggled to keep up with the increased tourism traffic after the first Spooky Nook location opened in 2013. During the time that Spooky Nook Champion Mill has been under construction in Hamilton, myriad local businesses have been strategizing and planning for expanding their operations.

Dan Bates, president, and CEO of the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce understood early on the shift that Hamilton business would have to make. When he first visited the original Spooky Nook location during his first week on the job approximately six years ago, Dan and the Chamber were given a first glance of what a Spooky Nook in Hamilton might look like.

“I knew this was going change the game of opportunity and growth for the City of Hamilton,” Dan said. “I could envision the change on small businesses here in our City and could see the opportunity for success.”

Combatting local negativity, doubt and rumors have been the biggest challenges for Spooky Nook developers and the Chamber. During the initial years of development for Spooky Nook Champion Mill, Dan and the Chamber conducted thorough research and development to forecast the potential success for Hamilton.

“We spent a great deal of time meeting with businesses in Pennsylvania that were impacted by Spooky Nook just outside of Lancaster,” Dan said. “We spent the next four years [in Hamilton] trying to get existing businesses to understand they had to revisit their business models and strategies to be ready to benefit from the shift.”

Dan understood Spooky Nook Champion Mill would not only help to lift up businesses in Hamilton but those in neighboring communities as well.

“It wasn’t going to be just a win for

Hamilton, but Hamilton would be a nucleus for a regional impact, that all arterial roads to Hamilton would have new potential for development and growth. We’re in the crossroads of the Midwest, with easy access to millions of people in multiple cities within a 3 to 5-hour drive. Due to the cost of living difference, the expendable income in this area is as good, if not even better, than the successful location in Pennsylvania.”

ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY IMPACT

The mission of Spooky Nook has been to not only provide convenient access to out-of-town visitors but to local residents as well. The 1,000,000-square-foot sports, entertainment, and event complex are projected to create 100 full-time jobs with benefits, with one-third of them having an average annual pay of more than $56,000. There will also be 365 part-time positions, and possibly another 150 full-and part-time jobs created by restaurants, shops, and other businesses that will lease space within the complex.

The Warehouse Hotel at Champion Mill, the on-site lodging option for guests located in the Champion Mill Conference Center, boasts 233 hotel rooms, 58 of which have a view of the Great Miami River.

The Forklift & Palate Restaurant will have a team of executive chefs and dedicated restaurant staff who specialize in American bistro cuisine, tasty adult beverages, and scrumptious desserts. The food court within Mill 1's athletic complex will be home to various food and beverage stations, providing guests with a quick snack, tasty smoothie, protein shake, and more.

Spooky Nook Champion Mill guests can also visit a few Hamilton local favorites on-site during downtime or between events: • Municipal Brew Works, announced as the first tenant in April 2021, will be opening a taproom and smallbatch brewing facility with just over 5,000 square feet. The location will have ample seating for over 100 people with a great view of the brewing area, the Great Miami River, and access to a riverside patio. • Petals & Wicks, announced as the second tenant in June 2021, will provide Spooky Nook Champion Mill guests with everything they need to

Unique designed rock climbing gym and Clip and Climb for beginners

 Guests can take advantage of these

following amenities: • An 80,000-square-foot fitness center with exercise equipment • An arcade/game room, Adventure

Zone, and rock-climbing area • An indoor 200-meter track • 14 indoor maple hardwood courts, with large mezzanines for spectators • 14 other indoor basketball/volleyball courts, covered with a multi-sport surface, can be covered and used to host conventions and trade shows • Nine indoor batting cages • One indoor full-sized turf soccer field • One indoor baseball infield • One full-sized outdoor turf field

create their own custom scent blend in any of the offered candle or bath and body product options. • Orthopedic Associates of SW Ohio, announced as the third tenant in

August 2021, will be located near the large main lobby and staffed by medical professionals who will be the first to aid athletes injured at the sports facility. Occupying 22,000 square feet of space, they will be able to X-ray athletes and guests on-site and can also refer patients for imaging such as MRIs at its other facilities.

Spooky Nook Champion Mill also has four sports team rooms, about 1,000 square feet each, that can host tournament headquarters or birthday parties. For larger parties or more formal events, the two-storytall Hamilton Ballroom can hold 600 guests, the Riverside Ballroom can hold 400, and the Butler Ballroom can fit 275 and will have beautiful river views. Waterfront Hall can hold 130-150.

Several parking lots will surround the complex, including east of the Great Miami River, with surplus parking at the City’s McDulin Parking Garage. Shuttles will transport people from downtown to German Village, Main Street, and Spooky Nook Champion Mill.

With 8,000 to 10,000 people projected to visit Spooky Nook Champion Mill per day for tournaments and events, residents and businesses can look forward to seeing the positive impact of Hamilton’s expanding regional footprint for many years to come. ❑