Here's the playbook on the $42M Cedar Point Sports Center

[gallery]SANDUSKY — Consider Tuesday's showing the final exhibition.Come Jan. 11, when athletes take part in Cedar Point Sports Center's opening day, they'll compete in a state-of-the-art, $42 million facility. It came together through unparalleled teamwork thanks to area executives and local officials.Media members and dignitaries walked through the Sandusky-area facility, on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) beside its sister outdoor site Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center.Since breaking ground on the indoor facility in July 2018, crews have worked to assemble the building inside and out.Here's a four-quarter breakdown of the facility's game plan, health aspect, financial facet and community component:1st quarter: The game planThe playing area, totaling about 145,000 square feet, features:• Hardwood floors capable of converting into nine high school regulation-sized basketball courts or 20 high school regulation-sized volleyball courts; The space can also cater to those competing in wrestling, indoor soccer, gymnastics, dancing, cheerleading and pickleball.• A "championship arena" with retractable seating and bleachers for fans to watch marquee matchups• A Family Entertainment Center featuring climbing walls, a "ninja warrior" course and an arcade• A one-eighth-mile-long indoor walking track• A grand lobby, or mezzanine, with space available to rent out for community events, birthday parties or other functions• A concessions area with food, drinks and, eventually, alcoholPaired with the outdoor complex, both of Cedar Point's sports complexes will provide a game-changing experience for athletes, young and old, near and far, said Duff Milkie, Cedar Fair's general counsel and executive vice president. Cedar Fair is Cedar Point's parent company.This will "solidify Erie County's position as a major youth sports center in the Midwest and America's sports-family-fun capital," Milkie said.Media members and dignitaries tour the Cedar Point Sports Center on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) in Sandusky on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019.Cedar Point owns the center's land. Sports Facilities Management, working in conjunction with Cedar Point, runs the entire indoor complex.Sports Facilities Management and its affiliated company, Sports Facilities Advisory, oversee a portfolio exceeding $6 billion in sports and entertainment centers. The firm manages about 15 venues across the U.S., including in Chicago and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.The firm wants to attract youth-based teams from all across North America into Erie County for tournament-type games."We have an operating team that is working toward booking events of all types of sports and are working diligently with the rights-holders and event operators to bring them in," said Jake Schwerer, the sport center's marketing manager.There's a goal to schedule games at the complex 52 weeks a year."It's not just seasonally: The facility is going to be open year-round, and we're looking to fill events, especially during those off-peak times, when Cedar Point is closed," Schwerer said.The Cedar Point Sports Center features hardwood floors capable of converting into nine high school regulation-sized basketball courts or 20 high school regulation-sized volleyball courts. The space can also cater to those competing in wrestling, indoor soccer, gymnastics, dancing, cheerleading and pickleball.2nd quarter: The health aspectExecutives partnered with Firelands Regional Medical Center to build a physical, occupational, speech therapy and sports medicine services facility inside the Cedar Point Sports Center.It's known as the Lee C. Jewett Sports Medicine Center, named after Lee Jewett, a former Cedar Fair executive and Firelands Regional Health System board member. Jewett provided a $1 million donation toward the facility.Both athletes competing at the sports center and community members can receive treatment at this medicine center, about 25,000 square feet in size, which should open in early January.The Lee C. Jewett Sports Medicine Center, located within Cedar Point Sports Center, includes three therapy pools. Dru Meredith, Firelands' vice president of operations, marketing and strategic planning, called the new medicine center "the crown jewel of our therapy program."Firelands plans on relocating a majority of its therapy programs and athletic trainers from the south campus on Hayes Avenue (Ohio 4) to this site.Dru Meredith, Firelands' vice president of operations, marketing and strategic planning, called the new medicine center "the crown jewel of our therapy program." Meredith worked with Milkie to establish the medicine center.Firelands Regional Medical Center built a physical, occupational, speech therapy and sports medicine services facility, known as the Lee C. Jewett Sports Medicine Center, inside the Cedar Point Sports Center.3rd quarter: The financial facetWhile the facility represents an estimated $42 million cost, not a single cent comes directly from local taxpayers, officials said.How the finances break down:• $23 million: funds coming from Erie County through bed tax money, a fee assessed onto people, mostly tourists, whenever they stay in area hotels, motels, lodges, Airbnb or VRBO properties, bed and breakfasts and the like• $11 million: funds coming from Firelands Regional Medical Center, which includes money from donors, like Jewett• $6 million: funds coming from Cedar Fair, which is assuming all operating risk and will cover any yearly operating losses• $2 million: funds coming from Sandusky through a tax-financing arrangement; This accounts for future property taxes from development occurring at this site.Retractable seating within the championship arena gets installed at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2019.Additionally, because Cedar Point owns the land, executives should pay upward of $700,000 in property taxes each year. The money goes into an account helping fund Landing Park. It's a planned waterfront park located behind both Cedar Point sports complexes."We didn't create a local tax, and we're not spending local tax dollars on this project," Erie County commissioner Pat Shenigo said. Shenigo along with his commission colleague Matt Old worked with Milkie to conceive this indoor complex.Before the project broke ground, Shenigo served as a leading voice to ensure the public would benefit from this indoor facility, both through tax dollars and actual usage."It's exciting to see this project come together," Shenigo said. "This will prove to be a great asset for our community not only to draw more tourist income year-round but also what this could become as a community center for our children, schools and seniors."The Cedar Points Sports Center includes a one-eighth-mile-long indoor walking track.And, when the Cedar Point Sports Center does open, it'll serve as another tool in Erie County's arsenal to extend the vacation season beyond spring, summer and fall.An indoor facility can help fill hotels, motels and lodges during winter and produce many more jobs, creating "an overall improvement in the local labor market and workforce development opportunities," according to a preliminary statement from project stakeholders upon unveiling this concept."This can help drive economic impact in our area," said Wes Hall, the sport center's general manager. "We want to keep this building open and active year-round so we can drive year-round activity, and that will be better for the community."More people staying in local lodges, eating at regional restaurants and shopping at area businesses infuses extra tax money into budgets overseen by Erie County-based political subdivisions.Officials can then spend this money on publicly funded operations Erie County residents want and need. This would include better roads, a higher number of safety service personnel and fewer condemned homes in neighborhoods."This facility, which is paid for by the tourists who visit our county, will help provide year-round activity," Old said. "More of our local businesses will be able to stay open in the winter. By extending the season, we will create more money for local governments to be able to provide services."The Cedar Point Sports Center features many family-friendly activities, which include the Family Entertainment Center, consisting of rock climbing walls.4th quarter: The community componentOne major question many local residents ask about the center: Can the community use it?Absolutely, executives and officials said.Beyond receiving services at the medical center, many opportunities exist for local teams. For starters, middle school-aged children from area schools can practice and play at this facility. This would include students enrolled in districts for Huron and Perkins.Executives realized many middle school teams practice late at night, an unideal time, typically, for students, families, teachers, coaches and administrators.And, as part of opening day ceremonies on Jan. 11, executives invited Margaretta's freshmen, junior varsity and varsity basketball squads to play their regularly scheduled games at the center."Gym space in the area is tight when you are looking at all the teams for both boys and girls, factoring in grade school, middle school and high school," Schwerer said. "There are a lot of kids and a lot of teams that need gym space in the area. They would still (be able to) play their games at their schools, but they would be able to practice here."The Cedar Point Sports Center is located on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) in Sandusky, next to its sister outdoor site Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center.More recently, Sports Facilities Management just created a league for local children enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade. Starting in mid-January, at the center, kids can take part in skills sessions and play games there on a weekly basis. The center also wants to host adult leagues for various sports. Information on how to sign up can be found on the center's Facebook page.Community members can also walk along the track, partake in the Family Entertainment Center or rent out space for parties."These are just our initial installments for an overall local usage plan, which has been a point of emphasis from us," Milkie said.The 145,000-square-foot playing area within the Cedar Point Sports Center on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6), pictured here on Dec. 17, 2019, features nine high school regulation-sized basketball courts, which can also convert into 20 high school regulation-sized volleyball courts and space for wrestling, indoor soccer, gymnastics, dancing, cheerleading and pickleball.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.