sports connection - the first 25 years (1995 – 2020) · sports connection - the first 25 years...

SportsConnection-TheFirst25Years

(1995–2020)

EXTREMESPORTSPARKattheSportsWarehouse

1986-1990

AllanNilesHaseley&KellyAnnBeckmeetin

ChapelHill,NCin1987.

KellygraduatedfromUNCin1986andwashelpingasanassistantcoachontheUNCWomen’sGolfTeamwheresheplayedfor4years.Allangraduatedin1986,alsofromUNC.TheymetplayingonacoedvolleyballteamwhenAllan’sneighborinvitedKellytojointheteam.

1990–1992

Allan&KellyHaseleyaremarriedandmoveto

Greenville,SCwheretheycontinuetoplay

recretationalvolleyballtogether.

1992–1995

Allan&KellyHaseleymovetoCharlotte,NCin

1992.Theybothcontinuetoplayvolleyball

multipletimesaweekintheCharlotteCityLeague

withtheSkiBeesGroup.

SomeoftheoriginalplayersonourvolleyballteamsincludedBethPhifer,Joy&DarrylOwens,Rod,Denver,Debbie,Jeff,Scott&JamieandLynn&Reid.Thisgroup,overbeersandpizzaafterourleaguegames,helpedencouragetheHaseleystoconsiderbuildingaVolleyballCenter/Clubtobeabletoenjoyplayingcompetitive

volleyballinabetterfacilitywithoutalltherulesandregulationsofthecityleagues.

PictureofSkiBees

1995

AllanandKellyHaseleyopenVolleyballUnlimited,

a4-courtvolleyballfacilityinCharlotte,NC.

Thebusinessplanwastoprovideafacilityfortheplayersinthe

CharlotteParksandRecreationMen’s,Women’s,andCoedVolleyballLeagueswhereAllanandKellyplayed,butwerefrustratedwiththe

facilitiesandleagues.

(LogobyKarenHaseley)

1996

VolleyballUnlimitedmergeswithCharlotteJuniors,

QueenCityRivals,andMizunoSouthtoform

CarolinaJuniorsVolleyball(CJV)

Thegoalofthismergerwastoofferacombinedyouthvolleyballclub

intheCharlottearea.CJVutilizedthe4-courtrentedindoorVolleyballUnlimitedwarehouseastheirmainpracticeand

tournamentfacility.Today,CarolinaJuniorsVolleyball(CJV)hasover2000membersandhundredsofteamseachyear.

(LogobyKarenHaseley)

1997

VolleyballUnlimitedrentsextravolleyballcourt

spacetoGuillermoUribe.

Guillermousesvolleyballcourtstoteachsoccerandsmall-sidedsoccerleaguesduringtimeswhenthevolleyballcourtswerenot

beingused.

VolleyballUnlimitedpartnerswithToddJesso

tocreateTeamWorksAdventureCenter.

TeamWorksbuilta“home-made”highropesobstaclecoursebetweenthecolumnsofthevolleyballcourtstoprovidecorporateteam

buildingprogramsduringthedayandweekendswhenthevolleyballcourtswerenotbeingused.Unfortunately,thenewbusinessneveractuallyopened.(Note:15yearslater,SportsConnectionaddstwo

indoor“commercial”RopesCoursesaboveArcadeRooms.)

1998

VolleyballUnlimitedchangesnametoSports

WarehouseinNovemberof1998andbuildsanew

facilitytoofferSoccerinadditiontoVolleyball.

SportsWarehousebuildsa35,000indoorsportscomplexonGraniteStreetwithhalfofthenewfacilitydedicatedtoIndoorSoccerwith

theotherhalfdedicatedtoAdultVolleyballandCJV.

(LogobyKarenHaseley)

BirthdayPartieswerenotpartoftheoriginal

businessplan,butwerelateraddedtoSports

Warehouse’sofferings.

MarkRichardsonoftheCarolinaPanthersaskedtousetheindoorsoccerfieldforhissonAce’s7thbirthdaypartybeforeSports

Warehouseopenedtothepublic.Twenty7-year-oldboysplayedfootballandsoccerwithMarkandGuillermoquarterbackingeachteam.Whatstartedwithoneparty,asafavor,hasturnedinto400

partiesamonthatSportsConnection’s3Charlottelocations.

1999

AllanandKellyHaseleypartneredwithDougand

PageCosbytocreateInnerPeaks,anIndoorRock

ClimbingFacility.

DougandPagewereoriginallylookingtorentspaceinsideofSportsWarehouse,butallpartnersagreedtorentalargerwarehouseinsteadintheFive-PointsareaofCharlotte.InnerPeaksoffers

memberships,publicclimbing,parities,andcampsandworkscloselywithSportsWarehouseonmarketing,jointparties,etc.

SportsWarehousepartnerswithSharonDavisof

EncoreGymnasticstocreatea2500sq.ft.

GymnasticsstudioinsideSportsWarehouse.

2001

SportsWarehousepurchasesCharlotteSports

Connection,anOutdoorSportandSocialClub,and

hirestheowner,BryanPaschal.

TogetherSportsWarehouseandCharlotteSportsConnectionbecomesthelargestproviderofAdultSports&SocialActivities

(IndoorandOutdoor)inCharlotte.

SportsWarehousehiresMedallionAthletic

Productstobuildthefirstoutdoorartificialturf

fieldinCharlotteinthebackofGraniteStreet.

2002

SportsWarehousepartnerswithMetrolina

PaintballtoformtheExtremeSportsParkatthe

SportsWarehousebuilding.

TheSportsWarehousebuildingwasremodeledtohavePaintball(outsideonthesoccerfield),PaintballProShop,SkatePark,andLaserTaginplaceofthevolleyballcourts.Thecourtswereplacedundertheindoorturffieldandsoccerwasplayedpartoftheweekandvolleyballtheotherpartoftheweekbyrollingandunrollingthe

turfeachweek.

EXTREMESPORTSPARKattheSportsWarehouse

TheSkateParkwasdesignedbyBrandonDavis,

usinghisTonyHawkVideoGame!

Brandon,thesonofEncoreGymnasticsownerSharonDavis,

designedtheentireSkateParkwithhisTonyHawkVideoGame.SharonthenconvertedthevideogamedesigntoasetofplansandMedallionAthleticProductswashiredtobuildtheSkatePark.

2003

From2003to2007,SportsWarehouserenteda

20,000sq.ft.indoorwarehouseacrossthestreet

fromtheGraniteStreetlocationandcalleditSports

Warehouse#2touseforAdultVolleyballLeagues

andCJV.Mostcustomersandemployeesreferred

tothesecondlocationas“TheDeuce”.

Itwasat“TheDeuce”thatthevolleyballprogramsgrewtotheirhighestnumbersandallowedtheoriginallocationtoofferSoccer,SkatePark,PaintballandLaserTag.BirthdayPartiesgrewtoover

200permonth.

2005

SportsWarehousepartnerswithEvanMillerand

CharlotteSportsCenter.

SportsWarehouseandCharlotteSportsCenterwerecompetitorsformanyyears.In2005,Allan&Evanmeteachotheranddecidedtoworktogethertocross-marketleagues,parties,andcamps,and

purchaseaninternet-basedsoftware(Sports-IT)toallowforasharedcustomerdatabasebetweenthetwocompanies,butwithseparate

accounting.EvanMillerthenbecomesapartnerofSportsWarehouseandGraniteStreetRealEstateInvestors.CharlotteSportsCentercontinuestobeownedbyEvanand17otherinvestors.AllanandKellychosenottobecomepartnersatthistimeoftheCharlotteSportsCenterandbepartnerswithsomanypeopletheydidnotknowandhadnointerest

inbusinessontheNorthsideofCharlotte.

SportsWarehousepurchasesayouthsoccer

franchisecalledLilKickersforkidsages18months

to9yearsofageforSouthandNorthCharlotte.

2006

SportsWarehousebeginsplanstobuildanew

SportsCenteronaresidentialpieceoflandinthe

BallantyneareaofCharlotte.

AdealisstructuredwithParks&Rectodoalandswaptoallowmore

streetfrontageforthenewSportsCenter.Arezoningpermitisgrantedallowingthelandtoberezonedfromresidentialto

Institutional-Conditional.Afullsetofbuildingplanswerecreatedforanew70,000SportsCenter,withBasketball,RollerSkating,Fitness

CenterandLaserTag.Afterspendingmoneyondesignsandrezoning,theestimatestobuildthebuildingwere1.5millionover

budgetduetoanerrorbythecivilengineer,sotheprojectwasputonindefiniteholdandneverbuilt.ThatmistakemayhavecostSportsWarehousealotofmoneyintheshortterm,butsavedusfrom

potentialbankruptcyinthelongterm.

SportsWarehousechangesnametoSports

Connectiontohaveamore“sophisticated”name

than“Warehouse”inanticipationofopeninganew

facilityinBallantyne.AddstheTagline“Sports&

FAMILYENTERTAINMENT”tothename/logo.

2007

SportsConnectionbuildsaFamilyEntertainment

andFitnessCenter(versusaSportsCenter)inthe

BallantyneAreaandopensinDecember2007.

Aftermuchresearch(andalittleluck)itwasdecidedaFamilyEntertainmentCenterfocusingonKIDSandFAMILIESandPARTIEShadabetterchanceofsuccessthancateringtoyoungadultsjust

playingSPORTS.UsingtheconceptoftheFoodCourtatthemall,theplanwastohaveanumberoftraditionalstandaloneformsoffamily

entertainmentallunderoneroofforallages.

SportsConnectionpartnerswithPeakFitnessto

ownandoperateaFitnessCenterinsidetheSports

Connection–Ballantyne.

2008

SportsConnection-Ballantyneisveryfortunate

duringthefirstfullyearofbusinesstosurvive

duringthe“recession”in2008and2009and

actuallyexperiencedtremendousgrowth.

Manyfamilieschosetosavemoneyandgasbyhaving“stay-cations”

attheSportsConnection,versustravelingonmoreexpensive“vacations”outoftown.BirthdayPartiesandAlcoholsalesalsowere

veryhighduringthisperiod.

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

TOTALSPORTSCONNECTION

2009

Sports&Fitnessiscreatedtotakeoverthe

managementoftheSportsConnection-Ballantyne

andCharlotteSportsCenter–NorthlakeFitness

CenterswhenPeakFitnesswentbankrupt.

EvanMillerfocusedontheFitnessCenterswhileAllancontinuedtofocusontheSportsandFamilyEntertainmentoperations.SportsConnectionprovidedmuchofthefinancialbackingandsupporttobeginexpandingSportsandFitnesstootherlocationsincluding

Northlake,SouthBoulevard,Morehead,University,LakeNorman,andIndianTrail.

2010

SportsConnectionmergeswithInterlinktocreate

SportsLink.

+

=

SportsLinkownedandmanagedallAdultLeaguesandProgramsforIndoorandOutdoorSportsinCharlotteandalsosponsoredmanySocialEvents.MostIndoorGameswereplayedattheSports

ConnectionlocationsandOutdoorGameswereplayedallovertown.SportsLinkofferedleaguesinmostallSports,includingover400

softballteamseachseason.

SportsConnectionpurchasesAIMFitnessand

assumestheleaseofa10,000sq.ft.personal

trainingfacilityonCarmelRoad.

Afterbailingtheoriginalowneroutofdebt,SportsConnectionhiredtheownerandothertrainerstoofferPersonalTrainingtoAdults.

AfterdiscoveringtheownerwasathiefandthetrainersprovedtheycouldnotmanageandgrowAIMFitness,SportsConnectiondissolvesAIMFitnessandrenamesitSportsConnection–CarmelRoadandaddsasoccerfieldandoffersleaguesandLil’Kickersclasses.

SportsConnectionpurchasessomesharesofthe

CharlotteSportsCenter(Operations)andCSCRealEstate(Building)whenoneofthe17original

investorspassesaway.

EvanMillerisstillthemanagingmemberofCSC.SportsConnectioncontinuestochoosenottobemoreactivelyinvolvedwithCSCatthispointandfocusesoncurrentSportsConnectionlocations.CSCandSportsConnectioncontinuetoshareresourcesandpartneron

marketing,leaguesandprograms.

(CharlotteSportsCenterin2010)