There were 2,000 wrestlers, 125 basketball teams, and two soccer clubs from several states that competed at The Highlands Sports Complex.
Last month, right? In March?
Wrong. In fact, those statistics were tallied just this past weekend.
General Manager Harvey Greenidge reported the Viper Pit Wrestling Nationals, the Slam Jam Basketball Tournament, and the Beadling and Victory soccer clubs all competed inside and outside the $30-million, 200-square-foot facility that opened less than four years ago in the middle of The Highlands.
After all, there are six basketball/volleyball courts, full-sized indoor and outdoor turfed fields, four batting cages/pitch tunnels, a play-climb area, an arcade, a café, meeting and event spaces, and a second-floor mezzanine level so parents, coaches, and college scouts can watch from above.
This supercenter of sports in Ohio County employs around 100 employees with 10-15 full-time positions, and this past weekend more than 5,000 individuals entered and exited the building.
So, OK, just a busy couple of days, right? What about this upcoming weekend?
Well, Greenidge predicts much the same foot traffic for the Wheeling Area Chamber Home & Life Expo, the KC Productions Spring Craft Show, and the 2024 OVA Country Roads Volleyball Classic.
“For this time of year,” Greenidge said with a smile, “this is normal for us. We typically have two or three tournaments or programs running at a time on Saturdays and Sundays, and we’re hoping for much more this summer. We want to keep raising the bar because we know our team and this facility can handle it.
“People from across the country have visited this facility since we opened, and that speaks to the quality of what we have here,” he said. “Plus, we’re surrounded by so many stores and restaurants, so it just makes sense for the folks who come here.”
The Commercial Count
Just ask her and Christine Thomas from Quaker Steak & Lube will tell you.
“When The (Highlands) Sports Complex is busy, we’re really busy here at Quaker Steak & Lube,” the eatery’s marketing manager said. “It’s really easy to explain. The sports complex is the best thing that could have happened for us after the pandemic, there’s no doubt about that.
“We see the teams and the parents from all over the place,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect when I first heard about it, but what a great thing it is for us here at The Highlands.”
The multi-purpose development site right along Interstate 70 has been growing since Cabela’s Outfitters opened in 2004, and the sports complex added a tourism dimension that packs restaurants and fills hotel rooms 12 months a year.
“It’s a terrific facility for a lot of different reasons, and it’s become a great source of traffic for all of the other businesses at The Highlands,” said Don Nickerson, the president of the Ohio County Commission. “I think it’s a huge benefit to the restaurants and the hotels and even to the retail operations up there. I would have never imagined the sports complex could become what it is today, but the people who were commissioners before had that vision and it’s been very successful just like The Highlands has been through the years.
“From a personal standpoint, when my daughter is playing basketball or my son is shooting archery, we always visit other businesses at The Highlands before or after their competitions,” he said. “And you always see the kids in their uniforms and with their parents at the businesses and restaurants, so there’s no doubt the sports complex is having a direct impact that’s been very positive.”
Supply, Demand, and The Bottom Line
“Incredible.” “Awesome.” “Amazing.”
The Highlands Sports Complex is pleasing and popular among AAU tournament directors, sports camp directors, exposition organizers, and professional franchises like the Wheeling Miners, and the one comment the facility’s general manager hears most is, “Sure wish we had one of these back home.”
“I hear that from our out-of-town people all of the time. Everyone who comes here wants to take it home with them because it’s a very nice facility,” Greenidge said. “But these facilities are regional so the children who live locally really are the lucky ones, and we do have a lot of local student-athletes that come here because of everything you can do on the inside.
“The Highlands Sports Complex is really a great place for birthday parties, too, because we have a great arcade and the climbing area,” he said. “Kids have a great time here, that’s for sure.”
Dollars and sense, Commissioner Nickerson explained, will determine when expansion should take place.
“There have been conversations about what could be next at the sports complex and we have had requests for some outdoor baseball fields,” Nickerson explained. “And we’ve heard about ice and about a fitness center, too, and right now it’s a matter of economics because the sports complex still doesn’t pay for itself. The (Ohio) County Commission still subsidizes it.
“And we knew that was going to be the case for a while after it opened, and we were told it would be probably a five-year break-even point and it’s close to four years at this point,” the commissioner added. “So, it’s just a matter of the economics when it comes to expansion.”
