The city of Huber Heights is not in a position to give GoodSports Enterprises six acres of land because the company has not done enough in its quest to build a $22 million fieldhouse/hotel, according to the city attorney.
Huber Heights city attorney Alan Schaeffer said the city is waiting for GoodSports to finalize its financing, then the land can be transferred. Giving GoodSports the land also will take an action from City Council, he said.
Schaeffer said the only piece of the development agreement for GoodSports to satisfy is the construction completion date, which is Sept. 1, 2015. Last month, City Council approved a second amendment to the development agreement, extending the back-end date three months from June to September.
The development agreement could be voided before Sept. 1, 2015, if GoodSports does not get its financing finalized, Schaeffer said.
“The ball’s in their court,” he said. “We’re going to watch it very closely. If the financing just never materializes, then we’ll be forced to go in a different direction, long before September 2015.”
GoodSports — a Florida company aiming to specialize in athlete-centric villages — announced in March 2013 its intentions to build a fieldhouse/hotel complex along Executive Boulevard, west of Meijer near the Interstate 70 and Ohio 201 interchange.
Anthony Homer, GoodSports vice president of development, did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday.
Homer said in January the company finalized its financing around the first of the year, but Huber Heights assistant city manager Scott Falkowski said last week GoodSports is reworking a portion of its financial package with its original lender.
“They want to make sure all their funding is secured before they pull the trigger and mobilize,” City Manager Rob Schommer said. “There’s no indication that they’re not going forward.”
According to the first amended development agreement between the city and GoodSports, the land would have been turned back over to the city if construction didn't start by June 1.
Schaeffer said the front end of the agreement was satisfied because the city has issued GoodSports zoning and grading permits.
Councilman Mark Campbell, chair of the Administration Committee, asked Schaeffer to review the city's development agreement with GoodSports.
“I hope GoodSports does develop and is successful,” Campbell said. “My mind’s at ease because it’s out on the table and we’ve discussed it. We have a clearer understanding that this is the phase it’s in — the fundraising phase.”
There has been no activity at the site since a construction trailer and fencing were installed in April. Music center construction crews extended utility lines to the site and prepared the building pad last fall, a cost of about $300,000.
According to the development agreement, Huber Heights will contribute about $2 million in incentives to GoodSports, including giving the company approximately six acres of land; building a shared parking lot with the music center of 400 spaces; constructing and extending water and sewer lines to the site; and providing public sidewalks and landscaping.
The fieldhouse and hotel will be stand-alone buildings. A courtyard area will be created between the fieldhouse and hotel.
The fieldhouse will feature 85,000 square feet, including 50,000 square feet of hardwood courts (six basketball or 12 volleyball) and an 8,000-square-foot fitness center. The five-story hotel will have 124 rooms. Other on-site amenities will include a restaurant, bar, pool, meeting room, sports therapy and virtual golf.
Construction is a 10-month build-out for the fieldhouse and 12 months for the hotel, Homer has said. GoodSports plans to host events such as basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and cheerleading.
GoodSports also has announced locations in Wichita, Chesterfield, Mo. and Greenwood, Ind.
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