Read more and to watch the video: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/845018_Spooky-Nook-Sports–nation-s-largest-indoor-sports-complex–ready-to-open.html#ixzz2Sk6st8gJ

Contact Stephanie Jordan, Marketing Coordinator, at stephaniej@nooksports.com for more information regarding Nook news.

The former Armstrong warehouse located at 2913 Spooky Nook Road was converted  into a new state of the art sports facility sure to bring buzz to Lancaster  County. The complex consists of a 14 acre family fun facility and 5 acres of  surrounding grounds soon to have outdoor fields. The dilapidated warehouse was  transformed into the exciting destination that Spooky Nook is today. In hopes  that the facility will boost the local economy, Spooky Nook wants to welcome  tourist and locals with open arms.

When you enter, vibrant colors and an impressive view of the climbing areas  amaze even the non-sports enthusiast. Going up to the mezzanine level, the  spectator can get a bird’s eye view of everything taking place from one vantage  point; arcade, climbing, basketball, baseball/softball, tennis – just to name a  few.

“We are extremely excited to bring the largest sports complex in North  America to Lancaster County. Spooky Nook Sports will be a place where everyone  in the family can find something they enjoy and have great experiences. A few  things that will make our facility standout will be value-added in everything we  offer, a fun and energetic atmosphere, cleanliness, friendly and knowledgeable  staff, effective and efficient programming, and state-of-the-art training  methods and equipment. We look forward to serving you and your family very  soon,” said Patrick O’Brien, Director of Sports Programming.

The complex also features a brand new fitness center complete with group  exercise classes and personal trainers. This fitness area will overlook the  basketball/volleyball and tennis courts. There is also a high performance  training area for athletes looking to take their game to the next level. The  memberships are now available for purchase online for the fitness center, tennis  or climbing clubs, or all three. If you are interested in checking out the  facility before you purchase a membership, scheduled tours are available. Also  the complex will have open houses in May for drop-ins interested in a quick  peek.

Spooky Nook Sports offers more than 30 courts and fields for everything from  field hockey to volleyball to fustal. To add to the excitement, Spooky Nook will  also be the home of the USA Women’s Field Hockey team. The USA Field Hockey  players are expected to make the move to Spooky Nook in September 2013.

In addition to sports, Spooky Nook has 10,500 square feet of enclosed  convention and banquet space; plus any of the courts can be used for a  convention. Food and shopping is available on site for those that want to relax  and refuel. Spooky Nook will be doing all of their food service in house, with  guidance by Robert Rothfus, Food and Beverage Manager, who joins Spooky Nook  from the Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, Pa.

Spooky Nook has already hosted several private events on the weekends during  its soft opening phase. In the past two months, they hosted four volleyball  tournaments, with as many as 5,000 people in attendance at their Irish Rumble  weekend in March. The complex will also house the Women’s Expo, hosted by the  Women’s Business Magazine and sponsored by Lancaster General Hospital on May 18,  2013. The expo will be open to the public with the purchase of an expo  ticket.

Spooky Nook has something for everyone – local and national. If you’re  looking to stay in shape with their fitness center, enroll your child in summer  camps, join a sports league or schedule a kid’s birthday party, Spooky Nook is  the place you want to be. The out-of-town visitor will enjoy a fun filled day in  the arcade featuring prototype games, a 15 foot rock climbing wall, a place to  hold an expo, or just a place to be a spectator for the day. As the Spooky Nook  team says, “come to the Nook” and experience this expansive facility for  yourself.

For questions regarding news or marketing, please contact Stephanie Jordan at stephaniej@nooksports.com.

By Tim Stuhldreher

About halfway through a tour of Spooky Nook Sports, the dizzyingly vast new facility being built inside a 14-acre former Armstrong World Industries Inc. warehouse, Marketing Coordinator, Stephanie Jordan points to a long wall in the distance to your left.

A group led by Spooky Nook Sports founder Sam Beiler, third from right, congregates in the lobby of the expansive sports facility under construction in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County.

This huge space you’re in, with its dozens of athletic courts, its climbing walls, pitching lanes and batting cages, dance and yoga studios, fitness center, retail store, food court, video game arcade, conference rooms and administrative offices?

All of that takes up less than half the building, she explains. On the other side of the wall is the other half, raw space awaiting development in phase two.

Yep. It’s big. Spooky Nook Sports is shaping up to be, as promised, the largest indoor sports facility in North America.

Crews have been working seven days a week, converting the abandoned industrial space on Spooky Nook Road just off Route 283 in East Hempfield Township into a gleaming, state-of-the-art athletic and entertainment complex.

The bulk of the work has been done during the past 20 weeks, said Spooky Nook’s founder, Sam Beiler. About 165 workers are in the building on a typical day, he said.

With only a couple of exceptions, all of the suppliers and contractors are local, he said.

Phase one will wrap up in late spring or early summer, Beiler and Jordan said. The site’s “soft opening” phase has begun, with select private events taking place. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people showed up in March for the “Irish Rumble” volleyball tournament, Jordan said.

In May, the site will host a women’s expo put on by Lancaster General Health and On-Line Publisher’s Inc., publishers of Business Woman magazine, Jordan said.

A grand opening is planned, but the date and details have not been finalized, Jordan said. A broad slate of offerings is planned for summer.

The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau is excited, said bureau President Kathleen Frankford, who toured Spooky Nook recently with the bureau’s managing director of sales, Mike Messina.

“There’s nothing like it in the country,” she said. “They’re going to be a great partner.”

The economic impact of sports teams traveling to Lancaster County for events has grown from $10 million in 2008 to between $40 million and $50 million a year, she said. Spooky Nook will boost that number further.

Initial projections suggested Spooky Nook would contribute about 58,000 room-nights per year to the local hospitality economy, Beiler said. January’s announcement that USA Field Hockey, the sport’s national governing body and sponsor of the women’s national team, will relocate its headquarters from Colorado to Spooky Nook increased those projections to 100,000 room-nights, he said.

Beiler, the former CEO of pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s Inc., bought the warehouse for $11.25 million in December 2011 and is Spooky Nook’s sole investor, according to company information. The commitment for phases one and two will total about $30 million, he said.

The 600,000-square-foot building sits on a 65-acre site that is being configured to accommodate outdoor sports fields and parking. The nearby Root’s Country Market and Auction Inc. has been providing temporary overflow parking for large events, Jordan said.

Beiler purchased the warehouse through Shadow Lawn Enterprises, a company he founded in 2010 that buys and rehabilitates distressed properties. An affiliated company, Spooky Nook Sports Inc., is handling marketing and operations.

Spooky Nook employs about 20 office and marketing staff, Jordan said. Staffing the complex itself will raise that number to about 100 full-time-equivalent positions in phase one, with another 75 positions or so to follow when phase two is complete, Beiler said.

Early this month, Spooky Nook held a “hiring hall,” Jordan said. About 270 people turned up to apply for 15 to 20 jobs, she said. Spooky Nook also collected resumes for future positions.

The facility aims to offer something for the whole family. Parents who are members can drop off small children in the child care area while they work out, Jordan said. Younger brothers or sisters can play in the video arcade while their siblings compete in volleyball or basketball tournaments.

Separate entrances will help with crowd control and help ensure members have easy access to facilities even during large events, marketing assistant Abby Wise said.

Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster is opening a branch at the site that will cater to Spooky Nook patrons but also be open to the public.

“It’s a great fit,” Beiler said.

Plans for phase two will depend, in part, on which elements of phase one prove to be the biggest draws, Jordan said. A portion of the space will be devoted to USA Field Hockey’s permanent offices and training facilities.

Spooky Nook plans to market itself to business customers for conferences, exhibitions and team-building events, Jordan said. In addition to the conference rooms, most of the sport courts are suitable for use as exhibition space, she said.

Spooky Nook is marketing itself locally and regionally at first, then nationally, Jordan said.

Robert “Chef Bob” Rothfus Jr., the executive chef at the Lancaster County Convention Center and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, has signed on as Spooky Nook’s food and beverage manager, and he is putting together a full banquet menu, Beiler said.

A 100-room hotel is planned as the third and final phase of the warehouse conversion, Beiler said.

Spooky Nook engaged two consulting firms that specialize in sports centers as it developed its business model and spoke with nearly every athletic director in the Lancaster-Lebanon high school sports league, Beiler said.

“The youth sports market is huge,” he said. “We’re very confident in the model.”

Only the beginning

Only the beginning

Here is a partial list of Spooky Nook Sports’ “phase one” facilities:

• Adventure center, featuring the “Clip n’ Climb” climbing arena

• Arcade/Family entertainment center

• Baseball and softball training area

• Climbing and bouldering center

• Conference rooms, board rooms and executive lounge

• Dance and workout studios

• Fitness center

• Food court and smoothie bar

• Multipurpose AstroTurf “field house”

• Multipurpose “sport court” area

• Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster office

• Party rooms

• Six tennis courts

• Sporting goods store

• Ten basketball/volleyball courts

About halfway through a tour of Spooky Nook Sports, the dizzyingly vast new facility being built inside a 14-acre former Armstrong World Industries Inc. warehouse, marketing coordinator Stephanie Jordan points to a long wall in the distance to your left.

A group led by Spooky Nook Sports founder Sam Beiler, third from right, congregates in the lobby of the expansive sports facility under construction in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. Photo/Amy Spangler

This huge space you’re in, with its dozens of athletic courts, its climbing walls, pitching lanes and batting cages, dance and yoga studios, fitness center, retail store, food court, video game arcade, conference rooms and administrative offices?

All of that takes up less than half the building, she explains. On the other side of the wall is the other half, raw space awaiting development in phase two.

Yep. It’s big. Spooky Nook Sports is shaping up to be, as promised, the largest indoor sports facility in North America.

Crews have been working seven days a week, converting the abandoned industrial space on Spooky Nook Road just off Route 283 in East Hempfield Township into a gleaming, state-of-the-art athletic and entertainment complex.

The bulk of the work has been done during the past 20 weeks, said Spooky Nook’s founder, Sam Beiler. About 165 workers are in the building on a typical day, he said.

With only a couple of exceptions, all of the suppliers and contractors are local, he said.

Phase one will wrap up in late spring or early summer, Beiler and Jordan said. The site’s “soft opening” phase has begun, with select private events taking place. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people showed up in March for the “Irish Rumble” volleyball tournament, Jordan said.

In May, the site will host a women’s expo put on by Lancaster General Health and On-Line Publisher’s Inc., publishers of Business Woman magazine, Jordan said.

A grand opening is planned, but the date and details have not been finalized, Jordan said. A broad slate of offerings is planned for summer.

The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau is excited, said bureau President Kathleen Frankford, who toured Spooky Nook recently with the bureau’s managing director of sales, Mike Messina.

“There’s nothing like it in the country,” she said. “They’re going to be a great partner.”

The economic impact of sports teams traveling to Lancaster County for events has grown from $10 million in 2008 to between $40 million and $50 million a year, she said. Spooky Nook will boost that number further.

Initial projections suggested Spooky Nook would contribute about 58,000 room-nights per year to the local hospitality economy, Beiler said. January’s announcement that USA Field Hockey, the sport’s national governing body and sponsor of the women’s national team, will relocate its headquarters from Colorado to Spooky Nook increased those projections to 100,000 room-nights, he said.

Beiler, the former CEO of pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s Inc., bought the warehouse for $11.25 million in December 2011 and is Spooky Nook’s sole investor, according to company information. The commitment for phases one and two will total about $30 million, he said.

The 600,000-square-foot building sits on a 65-acre site that is being configured to accommodate outdoor sports fields and parking. The nearby Root’s Country Market and Auction Inc. has been providing temporary overflow parking for large events, Jordan said.

Beiler purchased the warehouse through Shadow Lawn Enterprises, a company he founded in 2010 that buys and rehabilitates distressed properties. An affiliated company, Spooky Nook Sports Inc., is handling marketing and operations.

Spooky Nook employs about 20 office and marketing staff, Jordan said. Staffing the complex itself will raise that number to about 100 full-time-equivalent positions in phase one, with another 75 positions or so to follow when phase two is complete, Beiler said.

Early this month, Spooky Nook held a “hiring hall,” Jordan said. About 270 people turned up to apply for 15 to 20 jobs, she said. Spooky Nook also collected resumes for future positions.

The facility aims to offer something for the whole family. Parents who are members can drop off small children in the child care area while they work out, Jordan said. Younger brothers or sisters can play in the video arcade while their siblings compete in volleyball or basketball tournaments.

Separate entrances will help with crowd control and help ensure members have easy access to facilities even during large events, marketing assistant Abby Wise said.

Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster is opening a branch at the site that will cater to Spooky Nook patrons but also be open to the public.

“It’s a great fit,” Beiler said.

Plans for phase two will depend, in part, on which elements of phase one prove to be the biggest draws, Jordan said. A portion of the space will be devoted to USA Field Hockey’s permanent offices and training facilities.

Spooky Nook plans to market itself to business customers for conferences, exhibitions and team-building events, Jordan said. In addition to the conference rooms, most of the sport courts are suitable for use as exhibition space, she said.

Spooky Nook is marketing itself locally and regionally at first, then nationally, Jordan said.

Robert “Chef Bob” Rothfus Jr., the executive chef at the Lancaster County Convention Center and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, has signed on as Spooky Nook’s food and beverage manager, and he is putting together a full banquet menu, Beiler said.

A 100-room hotel is planned as the third and final phase of the warehouse conversion, Beiler said.

Spooky Nook engaged two consulting firms that specialize in sports centers as it developed its business model and spoke with nearly every athletic director in the Lancaster-Lebanon high school sports league, Beiler said.

“The youth sports market is huge,” he said. “We’re very confident in the model.”

Only the beginning

Only the beginning

Here is a partial list of Spooky Nook Sports’ “phase one” facilities:

• Adventure center, featuring the “Clip n’ Climb” climbing arena

• Arcade/Family entertainment center

• Baseball and softball training area

• Climbing and bouldering center

• Conference rooms, board rooms and executive lounge

• Dance and workout studios

• Fitness center

• Food court and smoothie bar

• Multipurpose AstroTurf “field house”

• Multipurpose “sport court” area

• Orthopedic Associates of Lancaster office

• Party rooms

• Six tennis courts

• Sporting goods store

• Ten basketball/volleyball courts

Source: http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/article/20130419/CPBJ01/304189995/Nation’s-largest-indoor-sports-facility-takes-shape&template=art

LANCASTER, PA, March 19, 2013 – Spooky Nook Sports is proud to welcome Staci Chamberlain as the Youth Programming & Activities Manager. At the facility, Chamberlain is responsible for overseeing the development of all youth programs, Nook Kid’s Camp, and the facility’s child watch.

Chamberlain has over 3 years of experience working in child care and youth programming. She joins the Spooky Nook team from the Lancaster Family YMCA. There Chamberlain served as the Family Services Director where she managed the operations of the after school programming and summer camps in addition to coordination of YMCA volunteers.

“We are delighted to welcome Chamberlain to our staff,” said Steve Goris, General Manager of Spooky Nook Sports. “We are impressed by her enthusiasm, interest and vision for kid’s programming at Spooky Nook Sports. She has a positive and fun attitude that made her a perfect fit with our facility and to draw in our biggest selling component, fun for all kids!”

Chamberlain joins Spooky Nook Sports with years of professional experience in both child care and youth program management. Chamberlain graduated from Penn State University in 2010 with a Human Development and Family Studies degree. While in college, Chamberlain joined Lancaster City Branch YMCA in 2010, as a Summer Camp Coordinator. She spent 3 years at the YMCA, throughout various positions including School Age Child Care Coordinator and the Family Services Director.

“Joining the team at Spooky Nook Sports has been thrilling for me,” said Staci Chamberlain. “The facility is the ideal atmosphere for planning and implementing youth activities. I can’t wait to put my imagination to use and offer Lancaster County amazing children’s programs!”

LANCASTER, P.A., MARCH 6, 2012 – Spooky Nook Sports, the nation’s largest indoor sports complex, announces the addition of Mark Brown as Director of Soccer.

Brown, originally from Scotland, brings over 33 years of soccer playing and coaching experience in both the professional and college ranks. He is a UEFA ‘A’ Licensed coach. At Spooky Nook Sports, Brown is responsible for the technical direction, coaching mentorship, development and the global direction of the Soccer and Futsal Clubs. In addition, Brown leads the progress and execution of all the soccer and futsal programs – from teams, tournaments, camps, clinics, and even private lessons.

“We are very excited to announce the hire of Mark Brown as the Director of Soccer,” said Steve Goris, General Manager. “We are confident that his vast soccer coaching experience, coupled with his willingness to maintain positive and strong customer relationships, will allow him to surpass expectations of this role.”

As the founder of Scotia Soccer, Brown has managed camps, clinics and developmental training programs for student- athletes, coaches, and local soccer associations. Brown began his professional soccer career at age 15 in Scotland with Glasgow Rangers. Following a 15 year playing career, he started his coaching career in 1992 as professional youth coach with Heart of Midlothian FC. Since coming to this area coach Brown has coached at Hershey High School as the boy’s and girl’s head coach, Elizabethtown College as the women’s and men’s assistant coach, Dickinson College as the men’s head coach, and Penn State Harrisburg as the men’s and women’s head coach, and is currently working with the girls high school team at Milton Hershey school. Brown graduated from Telford College in Edinburgh in 1987 before receiving his Business Economics degree at Napier University in 1994.

“I was attracted initially by the outstanding facility that Spooky Nook Sports was going to be, add to that the company’s mission of bringing families together through sports, entertainment and events,” and the whole package was there”, Brown said. “Spooky Nook Sports is a unique opportunity that I just had to be a part of. I am extremely proud and excited to be a component of such a huge undertaking for the company and area community.”

 LANCASTER, PA, FEBRUARY 14, 2013 – Spooky Nook Sports, the nation’s soon-to-be largest indoor sports complex, announces the addition of Claudia Ovchinnikoff as the Director of Fitness.

Ovchinnikoff brings over 14 years of high level experience in exercise physiology and personal training. At Spooky Nook Sports she is responsible for overseeing the Spooky Nook’s fitness facilities including the Nook Fitness Club. Ovchinnikoff also leads the development and execution of all the fitness programs – from the group exercise classes to fitness center management.

“We are very proud to welcome Claudia to our staff at Spooky Nook Sports,” said Steve Goris, General Manager. “We feel confident that she will provide the company with the means to strategically build upon our new and existing fitness business. We are excited that someone of Claudia’s caliber is leading this critical initiative for Nook Sports.”

Ovchinnikoff joins Spooky Nook Sports with professional experience in exercise physiology, wellness, and lacrosse coaching. Most recently she served as the Director of Personal Training and the Director of Lacrosse with Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex. Ovchinnikoff was responsible for overseeing the daily operation of the personal training program and member appointment system. She was also responsible for leading the girl’s lacrosse program including an elite travel team, leagues, and player development through clinics and private training.

Ovchinnikoff worked in several other facilities including the Lancaster Family YMCA, Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community (contracted by Lancaster General Health), Hempfield Sports Complex and MBIA Insurance Corporation (contracted by Pro-Fitness Health South) as well as being an Assistant Women’s Lacrosse Coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a commercial fitness sales representative with Life Fitness.

“Ovchinnikoff is a driven fitness professional who is energetic, competitive and very personable,” Goris said. “She (Ovchinnikoff) also has a passion for sports, fitness and wellness – all of which will play an integral part in the growth and success of Nook Sports.”

LANCASTER, PA, FEBRUARY 8, 2013 – Spooky Nook Sports, the nation’s largest indoor sports complex, announces the Country Inn of Lancaster as its major hotel partner.  The full-service, premier sponsor hotel offers the very best in sports lodging. The Country Inn of Lancaster is a family owned property situated in the midst of the shopping and theatre districts.

The hotel is located in the heart of Lancaster at 2133 Lincoln Highway East which is approximately 12 miles from the sports complex. The Country Inn of Lancaster’s Pennsylvania Dutch décor will make the perfect stop for Spooky Nook customers to enjoy a piece of traditional Lancaster County.

“We are very pleased with our relationship with the Country Inn of Lancaster and are excited to announce they are joining us to bring a new audience of tourists to this area.” said Steve Goris, General Manager of Spooky Nook Sports.

For years the Country Inn of Lancaster has been serving area tourists. The hotel is located minutes from major attractions and shopping. Not only is the hotel kid friendly, but kids also stay for free. The Country Inn of Lancaster offers a heated indoor and outdoor pool, a restaurant and pub onsite, complimentary breakfast plus many other amenities.

“In appreciation for what Nook Sports and Sam Beiler are bringing to Lancaster County we certainly wanted to support this facility – the project is going to be the biggest thing to come to Lancaster County since Sight and Sound Theatre.” Barry Kidd, Vice President of Hotels, said. “The enthusiasm and economic impact that Nook Sports will have will reach everyone in the County and beyond. We are privileged to be part of this enterprise and we look forward to our partnership and supporting Nook Sports in their endeavor.”

LANCASTER, PA, February 4, 2013 – Spooky Nook Sports, the nation’s soon-to-be largest indoor sports complex, announces the addition of Jordan Forney as Director of Adventure.

Forney brings over 8 years of rock climbing experience as both an instructor and a coach. At Spooky Nook Sports, Forney is responsible for overseeing the adventure department and team-building opportunities.

The adventure department will include a climbing wall, Clip n’ Climb, an outdoor 5k mud-run course and a ropes course. Forney also leads the development and execution of all the adventure programs – from teams, camps and clinics, to private lessons.

“We are very proud to welcome Forney to our staff”, Steve Goris, General Manager of Spooky Nook Sports, said. “We feel confident that he (Forney) will provide the company with means to strategically build our Adventure Department.”

Forney joins Spooky Nook Sports with years of professional experience in both rock climbing and educational program management. Forney graduated from Hershey High School in 2007 before receiving his Adventure Education degree from Messiah College in 2012. While in college, Forney joined the Climbnasium in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania as a rock climbing instructor. At Climbnasium he coached children of all ages at local climbing competitions. Forney relocated to Denver, Colorado where he worked for First Descents, a non-profit company that provides cancer fighters and survivors on rock climbing, surfing and kayaking trips all over the country and around the world. Forney comes to Spooky Nook Sports after serving as the Rock Climbing Instructor at Rock’n and Jam’n in Thornton and Centennial, Colorado.

“Forney is a driven individual who is creative and athletic,” Goris said. “He (Forney) also has a strong passion for sports, education and adventure – all of which will play an integral part in the growth and success of Nook Sports.”

For more information about Spooky Nook Sports, visit www.SpookyNookSports.com.

Originally Published Jan 22, 2013 20:15
By PETE KAUFFMAN
Sports Writer

Lancaster County has long been home to a talented crop of field hockey players.

And now there are plans to have the county officially become the “Home of Hockey.”

USA Field Hockey announced in a press release Tuesday that it has partnered with Spooky Nook Sports to make Spooky Nook the home of the U.S. Women’s National Team through 2022.

The sports complex along Spooky Nook road in East Hempfield Township will host USA Field Hockey-sanctioned events beginning in 2014.

Much of the sports complex is expected to be completed by March 1, but the section for USA Field Hockey will not be finished until late summer.

“We have been searching for a ‘Home of Hockey’ in the Northeast over the last several years and are excited to announce we have found a place the U.S. Women’s National Team will call home in Lancaster County,” Steve Locke, executive director of USA Field Hockey, said in the press release.

“Nook Sports is one of the most spectacular athletic facilities in the country. The location is ideal as many of our athletes come from the East Coast, especially the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia areas. There is no doubt that this is a game-changing moment for our sport. The ‘Home of Hockey’ will provide us with a platform to best prepare our national teams for success in international competition and serve as a beacon and center of excellence for developing athletes of all ages.”

Creating a “Home of Hockey” in the Northeast, where field hockey is most prominent, coincides with USA Field Hockey’s mission statement and strategic plan of promoting, growing and providing opportunities for men and women and boys and girls to participate and excel in the sport in the U.S.

There are more than 100 girls from the Lancaster-Lebanon League participating on the collegiate level in Divisions I, II and III. Dana (Sensenig) Risser, a 2003 graduate of Cocalico High School, competed for Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Adding in players from just the PIAA District Three area, which encompasses the L-L, Mid-Penn, York Area and Berks County leagues, and the number of mid-state athletes participating at the collegiate levels swells to more than 250.

“(Pennsylvania) is a hotbed for field hockey, so to have the National Team located in (Pennsylvania) is great,” Cocalico coach Krista Page said in an email. “Having it in Lancaster County is even better.”

Page was Risser’s scholastic coach, and her daughter, Jordan — also a Cocalico grad who now plays at Syracuse University — is a member of the U.S. Under-21 Team that just returned from a trip to Australia. Also on the U-21 squad is Donegal graduate Laura Gebhart, who served as a team captain during the recent competition in Australia. She plays for Penn State.

So it almost seemed like a natural fit, having the Women’s National Team relocate from its current home at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., to Lancaster County upon the completion of the Spooky Nook venue, according to the release.

Chula Vista will remain a National Team training center and the U.S. Men’s National Team will continue to train and compete at the Olympic Training Center just outside San Diego, Calif.

“This is a very exciting time for USA Field Hockey as we begin a new quadrennial, but even more so because Nook Sports is creating an impressive home for us in Lancaster, Pa.,” said Lauren Crandall, 2008 and 2012 Olympian and U.S. Women’s National Team captain, in the press release. “To have a ‘Home for Hockey’ so central to the majority of the field hockey population is exciting, to say the least. We hope it will translate into continual growth and strengthening of our sport in the surrounding areas as well as across the country.”

“The new facility promises to be an aspiration venue for the whole hockey community. Not only will it be home of our elite programs in which athletes will have access to world-class facilities and support services, it will also allow the next generation of hockey players, coaches and officials to share in the environment and take inspiration from it,” said Craig Parnham, newly appointed as the U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach, in the release.

Nook Sports will be USA Field Hockey’s home base for many elite, junior and development events, including, from 2014 onward, host of the National Futures Championships, Futures Elite Championship and the National Club Championship. The indoor center will become the permanent host of the National Indoor Tournament beginning in 2015.

With state-of-the-art facilities, including two water-based turf fields (one under a climate-controlled dome), six additional artificial surfaces and over 700,000 square feet of indoor space — one of the largest facilities of its kind in the country — Nook Sports is located in an area that boasts the most field hockey players in the United States.

The area designed specifically for Team USA will feature home and away locker rooms, strength and conditioning facilities, conference and lounge areas, as well as office space for the high performance staff.

“Not only will USA Field Hockey’s move to Nook Sports ignite even more excitement for the sport within the region, but it will create more opportunities for aspiring young players,” Steve Goris, general manager of Nook Sports, said in the release. “With local, regional, national and now international games, leagues and tournaments year-round, it will create a multimillion-dollar economic impact for Lancaster County.”

The complex, a privately funded $25 million project that is converting a former Armstrong World Industries Inc. flooring distribution center on a 65-acre plot of land into a sports facility, is being developed by Sam Beiler, former owner of Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels.

A press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at Nook Sports, featuring Locke, Goris and several Team USA athletes. A meet-and-greet, autograph signings and photo opportunities with members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Field Hockey Team will be open to the public following the press conference.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/806260_USA-Field-Hockey-moving-base-to-Lancaster.html#ixzz2J186VXAw

The old Armstrong building along Route 283 in East Hempfield Township is being transformed into the Spooky Nook Sports Complex, which will feature more than a half dozen sports venues all under one roof.

“As far as we’re aware, we know we’re the biggest in the country. We don’t know if we’re the biggest in the world, but we have a pretty good feeling we are,” said Ben Halverson, who helped develop the idea. “The biggest that we’re aware of that competes with us is 240,000 square feet. Really, when you talk about square footage, what we are is 16 acres of building.”

The complex will include ten volleyball and basketball courts, six tennis courts, four turf field hockey courts, a two-story jungle gym for the kids, rock-climbing walls and a gym, not to mention the food court, retail shop, child care center, and physical therapy and orthopedic services – in case you get hurt while playing.

“Creating this experience for families to come together through sports entertainment and events, it has an enthusiasm that’s growing and what we’re doing is creating a venue where everything can be hosted under one roof,” Halverson said.

Spooky Nook Sports is focusing outside, too. The grassy fields surrounding the building will be turned into turf fields, including a special one.

“Our dome we’re very excited about,” said Halverson. “It’s a clear span, full-size indoor, year-round facility where you can play on turf every day of the year.”

There are even plans for the spare outdoor space. “A mud run obstacle course, which is a 5K obstacle course, which is designed to really tear you up a little bit,” said Halverson. “You know, it’s gonna be high adventure, high energy and very, very tough to complete.”

The complex is expected to be completed on March 1, 2013.

“I can’t wait to get on the climbing wall,” said Halverson. “The climbing wall is going to be great.”