Staying with the story: The Dayton Daily News has covered this story closely since we first broke the news in March 2013 of GoodSports' intentions to build a fieldhouse/hotel in Huber Heights. We will continue to follow this story with in-depth coverage.
Construction is expected to begin Monday on GoodSports Enterprises’ $22 million fieldhouse/hotel complex in Huber Heights — just in time to satisfy the development agreement between the city and company.
The closing of the land transfer to GoodSports — a little more than six acres — is scheduled to take place today, and site work will start Monday, Huber Heights assistant city manager Scott Falkowski said.
According to the development agreement between the city and GoodSports, the land will be turned back over to the city if construction doesn't start by Sunday or if the fieldhouse/hotel is not open by June 1, 2015.
Falkowski said the agreement will be met if construction begins Monday because Sunday is not a business day. GoodSports officials did not return messages or emails seeking comment for this story.
“Projects take the time they need to take,” Falkowski said. “We’d rather it be done right than rushed. They want to be open next year, and we also want them to be open next year. Now it’s in their hands. It doesn’t affect us opening the music center and marketing the sites around it.”
In April, the construction trailer was placed on the GoodSports site and fencing was installed on the property along the south side of Executive Boulevard, west of Meijer near the Interstate 70 and Ohio 201 interchange. The city's $18 million music center is at the west end of the property, with the fieldhouse/hotel between it and Meijer.
Construction is a 10-month build-out for the fieldhouse and 12 months for the hotel, GoodSports vice president of development Anthony Homer previously said.
Falkowski said GoodSports has its grading and zoning permits from the county, but is still working on securing full building permits. GoodSports also is working on projects in other cities, including Wichita, Kan., Chesterfield, Mo., and Greenwood, Ind.
“They have hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects, and working out everything is a very big process,” Falkowski said. “We’re still excited for them to get started. We’ve been talking about this for a while. It’s all coming together now.”
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.
GoodSports officials have said they would like to begin hosting events in January 2015. Events could include basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, wrestling and cheerleading.
The city projects the fieldhouse/hotel annually will generate $100,000 in hotel tax (3 percent tax, 60 percent occupancy rate), $454,741 in property tax and $1.9 million in county sales tax. Over a 30-year period, approximately $7.2 million will be generated in tax increment financing money.
Huber Heights and GoodSports have said 412 total jobs — 112 permanent and 300 temporary construction — will be created by the GoodSports complex. GoodSports has posted 10 job openings on its website for the Huber Heights complex.
Construction of the 4,500-seat covered music center is expected to be completed by late summer.
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