Currently a vacant and dilapidated structure, the former Champion Paper Mill will soon be given new life as it transitions into the Spooky Nook Sports complex. While the complex will primarily be used for hosting sports tournaments, there are several more features not to be overlooked. In addition to the gymnasiums, courts and fields, Spooky Nook at Champion Mill will house an orthopedic office, a workout gym, and one of the largest convention spaces in the region, second only to the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.
While looking forward, it is important to remember where you’ve been. The path to Spooky Nook at Champion Mill has been filled with ups and downs, but each one has been necessary to bring about the progression and growth the Mill so desperately needs.
It all began back in 2012 when the City of Hamilton purchased the property after the mill closed. There wasn’t a designated plan for use of the site, but city officials determined that measures had to be taken to protect such a large and strategically-located piece of land.
“My concern at that time was more of what do we not want there and how do we keep that out,” said Joshua Smith, Hamilton City Manager. “It was 40 -plus acres on our riverfront and right across the river was a scrap recycling center. I was concerned that more of our riverfront was going to convert to something similar along those uses.”
In a proactive effort, the city purchased the property. The next step was to figure out how best to utilize the land and location for the city of Hamilton and its residents.
“In the beginning, it was not contemplated to be a Spooky Nook complex,” Smith explained. “To be honest, I was not terribly excited until Sam Beiler entered the picture almost a year later.”
The idea of making it a Spooky Nook complex didn’t come about until Mark Frank, the Vice President of Operations for Glick LLC, mentioned it to Smith in 2014. Moses Glick LLC, an industrial salvage company, is located near the original Spooky Nook in Mannheim, PA. At first, Smith wasn’t fully engaged in the idea, but he decided that he would visit the facility anyway.
“I was blown away when I first saw the original Spooky Nook in PA,” Smith said. “We immediately knew this could be a game-changer for Hamilton and our region if we could find a path forward.”
To ascertain the realistic possibility of a sports complex at this location at all, private investors hired Sports Facility Advisory (SFA) to perform a feasibility study for having a complex at the Champion Mill location.
The study showed positive results, but Smith still wanted someone with business experience in running a sports complex to make the project more viable.
“Once the determination was made that we were going to aggressively pursue the project, we pushed our chips into the middle of the table and said we were all in,” said Smith.
Sam Beiler, the founder and CEO of Spooky Nook Sports, was originally unaware of the interest in bringing this project to Hamilton.
“A couple of years ago, I saw some people walking around the Nook here in Pennsylvania, and they caught my eye because I didn’t know who they were,” Beiler remembers.
Among those people were Joshua Smith and Mark Hecquet, the president of the Butler County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
It wasn’t until later when Moses Glick LLC suggested that Beiler travel to Hamilton to see the Champion Mill property that the realistic idea for a second facility began to take shape.
“What I was struck by on my first visit was the interest from the community,” said Beiler. “There was a group of 10-15 people whose enthusiasm for their community was strong and that sparked my interest.”
While the thought of expansion was present for Beiler, he hadn’t moved to take that leap just yet.
“Hamilton came along a little earlier than expected, but when we looked at the market and support, Hamilton made sense,” said Beiler.
Sam Beiler holds plenty of experience when it comes to owning and operating a business. Beiler was with soft pretzel company Auntie Anne’s for 21 years, six of which as owner. He sold the company in 2010 with plans to retire, but after six months, he decided he needed a bigger challenge. Thus Spooky Nook Sports was born.
With the Champion Paper Mill being such a historic point in town, and in people’s lives, there was a desire to maintain as much of the historical importance as possible through this transition.
“Most of the remaining exterior walls will be utilized and almost every building in Mill 2 [by the river] will be reused,” stated Smith. “Several individuals who have mementos or other items from Champion paper have offered to donate them, as long as they are properly displayed.”
Even the very name of the new facility will pay homage to the important place Champion holds for Hamilton: Spooky Nook at Champion Mill.
“I think that many people with memories of Champion Paper remember that property as a bustling hub of productivity for the city of Hamilton,” said Beiler. “Absent a business there, you can see it beginning to decline and our goal is to make that property a bustling part of the life of Hamilton again.”
With the condition and age of the property, Beiler and Smith knew this was no small task and would require a large amount of planning.
“Any time you take a century-old industrial property and look to reuse it, you must identify environmental concerns, functional concerns, cost concerns…” Smith explained. “We understood this would not be a fast or easy process.”
When digging into a 125-year old building, the list of unknowns can seem daunting to some, but not to Sam Beiler. He holds a strong interest in historical buildings and was intrigued by the possibilities the Champion Mill held.
John Guidugli, president and CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation, has also visited the Spooky Nook and was impressed by the level of thought that goes into the everyday operation of the facility.
“We went out on a Friday and that Saturday morning, we had to be up on the roof because Sam wanted to show us the traffic flow,” Guidugli remembered. “It was very interesting to see because one of the things you’ll find as you talk to Sam is he has great attention to detail.”
As a supporter of this project, he also felt that change was important to the Mill site, since the paper industry isn’t what it used to be.
“I hope it really does become a newer focal point for the community and a sense of pride for the folks that worked there for all those years, but also for all the generations who will use it going forward,” Guidugli said. “We believe this can be a transformational project in the community.”
The changes that have been taking place around the city have primed Hamilton as the perfect atmosphere for Spooky Nook to flourish and prosper.
“Hamilton has a revitalization energy that’s really alive and well,” expressed Beiler. “We’re excited about being a part of that.”
Spooky Nook at Champion Mill is expected to be completed and open for business in 2021