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)