Booking a 'Homefield' advantage

PERKINS TWP. — With their new sports-themed inn, their game plan revolves around making visitors feel right at home. Spouses Justin and Lisa Brady recently debuted Homefield Inn, 2529 Columbus Ave., Sandusky, by the Perkins Avenue intersection near Kroger. Earlier this year, they and their business partners acquired the former Seacrest Motel for $405,000, working on a top-to-bottom renovation ever since. They recently finished the first phase, opening 16 rooms in single-story structures spaced across this property. Meanwhile, they continue working on transforming a multi-story structure for future usage. This marks the Huron couple's second local lodge they're operating. Their business portfolio also consists of Explorer Rest & Recreation on Cleveland Road (U.S. 6) by the indoor and outdoor sports complexes. "We've had so much success with Explorer that we wanted to expand," Lisa said. While Homefield draws parallels to Explorer — such as providing queen-sized, luxury-style beds and mirroring a self-check-in process — there are some differences. Most notably, at Homefield, guests can find many modern amenities in each room. All spaces also greatly cater to sports fans. Justin and Lisa realize many out-of-towners visit Sandusky to compete in youth tournaments, including for baseball, basketball, soccer and volleyball. So they played into the athletic theme with their rooms. "We saw the need for a themed overnight accommodation like this," said Lisa, noting they needed a theme to help market Homefield, which isn't located on a major state or federal road/highway. "Our goal was to gear the rooms that are family-friendly with a sports overlay that were bold and pop with color." In each room, people can find: • Colorful artwork, from Vickery-based T-N-T Graphics, establishing a welcoming vibe with vibrant depictions of various gameplay • Metal lockers where children can store their on-court/field belongings • Wooden benches where people can sit "This is truly a great place for a team," Justin said. "When you are in a hotel, you have kids running around the floor and hallways, which could disturb people. Here that's not a problem because there are nice recreational areas outside for people to gather." Even Homefield's logo incorporates a baseball diamond, soccer field and basketball court, which overlap one another, and appears as a cohesive graphic, doubling as what the inn looks like. "Everything, from our rooms to our logo, we spent a lot of time working on it," Justin said. "We worked on everything, down to the landscaping, to improve this property for our guests." Both Justin and Lisa welcome people to check out, and check into, Homefield Inn. People can visit homefieldinn.com and check out major booking sites to learn more information. "This is a cozy environment where we want people, including teams coming to our area, to stay," Lisa said. "It will be a more intimate place for people to stay, and our guests will enjoy it here."