How Spooky Nook is evolving

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He focused on housing volleyball and basketball courts; on creating training spaces for youth soccer and baseball teams; and on building facilities for field hockey, lacrosse and other sports in need of indoor fields.

That focus helped Spooky Nook, the country’s largest indoor sports complex, attract more than 1.2 million athletes and spectators last year, up from more than 1 million in 2016.

But the complex in East Hempfield Township also has appealed to many non-sports users, due to its size — more than 700,000 square feet — and its in-house amenities, including a hotel and restaurant added in 2015, as well as several convention and meeting spaces.

Spooky Nook hosted 250 non-sporting events last year — from trade shows and job fairs to banquet events for 1,000 people. In May Spooky Nook will be the site of a large wine festival.

“That wasn’t part of the initial plan here,” said Beiler, the former owner of pretzel company Auntie Anne’s.

Nonetheless, he is embracing the complex’s growing events business and he is investing money to bring it to the next level.

“I would love to do larger events,” Beiler said, especially on weekdays when the sports business is lighter. 

Current work includes a $710,000 project to install a commercial kitchen and an event stage with sound system and lighting, designed to increase the complex’s event-hosting capabilities. The renovation is being supported by a $355,000 loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority.

At least five to 10 new jobs are expected to be added because of the expansion, which should be completed by the end of summer. Spooky Nook currently employs about 650 people.

The complex also was responsible for about 60,000 hotel room nights last year in Lancaster County, as well as neighboring counties such as Dauphin and York.

A recent analysis by Tourism Economics calculated Spooky Nook’s direct economic impact last year at $54.7 million. That included $15.5 million in estimated revenue for the complex and $39.2 million in off-site ancillary spending by attendees.

Lanco deal

As work begins on the new kitchen and stage, even bigger changes lie ahead for Beiler and the Spooky Nook brand.

Spooky Nook is finalizing a multimillion-dollar purchase of the nearby Lanco Fieldhouse, which will give Spooky Nook more fields to serve recreational sports leagues as well as its birthday party business.

Officials have not disclosed the purchase price because the deal — reportedly for about $4 million — hasn’t closed.

Beiler called Lanco a natural fit. It’s also a timely one, he said, because the youth sports market is growing. And Spooky Nook, despite its size, can’t handle all of the demands for space thrown at it.

The Nook serves about 20 sports. And it often hosts large tournaments that draw teams from surrounding states. 

On most weekends, Spooky Nook is full. Some tournaments bring in crowds that exceed 10,000 people per day. Many of the annual events that come to Spooky Nook also are growing year over year, with more teams and spectators making the trek to Lancaster County. A recent basketball tournament attracted teams from as far away as Illinois and North Carolina.

The addition of Lanco, which is about five miles away, will expand indoor field and parking capacity for Spooky Nook, Beiler said. And it will help Spooky Nook better serve growing sports and organizations, like PA Classics, a youth soccer club based in Lancaster County.

Spooky Nook already rents a lot of indoor field time to PA Classics, but space is limited and the needs are growing. And PA Classics recently announced a partnership and future merger with Penn Legacy, another Lancaster County club.

Beiler said the growth in youth soccer had a significant impact on his decision to buy Lanco. He believes the addition will give Spooky Nook the added field flexibility to support all space requirements for PA Classics and Penn Legacy.

“The amount of space they need (indoors) and frequency that they need it led us in this direction,” Beiler said.

He had originally planned to build more turf fields at Spooky Nook to support soccer and baseball. But after opening the complex in 2013, he quickly realized there was not enough room for the extra fields if he wanted to maintain enough parking to serve the rest of the complex. So Spooky Nook put the additional playing surfaces on hold.

Before Lanco went up for sale, Beiler said he had been considering a leasing arrangement with Lanco to augment Spooky Nook’s capabilities.

Once the purchase is completed, Lanco will be renamed Spooky Nook Sports Lanco. Spooky Nook expects to begin operating the facility next week.

Beiler said he is open to expanding the Spooky Nook brand further, though he’s unsure how that might play out. One possibility, he said, is franchising the concept. It’s also possible that other expansions could still occur around the existing complex.

He owns about 40 acres near Spooky Nook and Route 283, but there are no immediate plans for how to use that land, he said.

Property near the highway interchange, he said, may be better suited for new retail and hospitality development. Some development already has sprung up since Spooky Nook opened.

Based on the growing attendance at Spooky Nook, Beiler expects more hotels and food options will continue to develop around it.

“I’m sure it will continue to grow,” he said. 

Ohio expansion

Beiler also is focused on building a new Spooky Nook outside Central Pennsylvania. 

Over the last two years, he has been working on a new Spooky Nook facility in Hamilton, Ohio. That complex will be part of a $150 million redevelopment effort, Spooky Nook officials said.

Like the Lancaster County facility, which was built in a former Armstrong World Industries distribution center, the Ohio facility also would be an industrial redevelopment project, taking place at a former Champion Paper mill.

Beiler said financing for the project is nearly complete and he hopes to break ground between June and August. Construction could take about two years, he said, targeting a 2020 opening.

The Ohio facility will be similar to the original Spooky Nook, Beiler said. But having five years to fine tune the model in Lancaster County will benefit the next iteration in Ohio.

“Our goal is to apply what we’ve learned here,” Beiler said.

For starters, the design of the new facility will include larger dedicated events spaces, and a commercial kitchen will be installed immediately. The fitness center in Ohio will have a separate member parking lot, which came later in Lancaster County.

The local Spooky Nook has a 135-room hotel. The Ohio facility will have 200 rooms to accommodate more guests.

Beiler said support services for athletes will remain a focal point. Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster has been a good fit at the current facility.

However, he also recognizes that busy parents may want other offerings while at the facility for sports. Spooky Nook recently added optometry provider Infinity Eye Care as a tenant to offer eye care services. He is looking into other services that might appeal to people attending events at the complex.

Coming from the soft-pretzel franchise business, Beiler said he likes the idea of franchising the Spooky Nook concept in the future. Many markets lack large sports training facilities. Plus, there are often limited options for large business events.

But, Beiler said, he doesn’t want to move too quickly.

“We want to be efficient with one facility and then open a second,” he said. “And then we’ll see what the next step might be.”

He believes there is an opportunity to go national with this sports and events concept. Not only is it a way to grow and develop youth athletics, the facilities can revive vacant properties, create jobs and spark new development in surrounding areas.

Spooky Nook will host a softball tournament in Ohio this May, hoping to give the state a taste of what is coming. Hamilton officials recently visited Lancaster County and are expecting big things in Ohio.

“This is a long play,” Beiler said. “I’m energized every time I come in the doors.”