Construction is not quite finished at the new Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports center in Hilliard, but a media preview event held yesterday afternoon was a strong indicator that the facility is finally about to come to life. The building is the second of its kind, following the original that opened several years ago inĀ Lockport, Illinois ā a suburb of Chicago.
“We have over 115,000 square feet of space ā primarily turf set up for baseball, softball, football and lacrosse,” explained Jim Thompson, President at Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports. “We also have a larger commitment to sports performance. This new facility has 20,000 square feet of space for that, versus 4,000 in the original.”
After beingĀ originally announced in 2013Ā with an opening planned for 2014, the Central Ohio version of Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports experienced a few setbacks. The expansion plans are now full steam ahead, as Jackson himself was on hand today to declare that he would like to open ten more facilities in the Midwest over the next decade or so.
“This isĀ great for cold weather cities to provide the same year-round opportunities for sports that kids in the west and in the south have,” Jackson stated. “And whatĀ we’ve got in Chicago is a Bentley, but this new facility is a Rolls Royce.”
Construction of the sports complex is expected to wrap up before the end of the year with training and classes slated to begin on January 2nd.
More information can be found atĀ www.bjescolumbus.com.
All photos and video by Walker Evans.
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