GENEVA, Ohio — In three and a half months, sports betting will officially become legal in Ohio. On January 1, some of the state’s top players, including all of Cleveland’s major league teams, will be eligible to begin taking bets.
READ MORE: Cavaliers, Browns and Guardians among those who say they want to participate in Ohio sports betting
Now, some smaller communities and organizations in northeast Ohio are also hoping to get in on the game.
“Our ownership group was looking at different avenues and continues to look at different avenues to help us grow and create other revenue streams,” said Jeff Orloff, president of SPIRE.
The SPIRE Institute and Academy is a youth and adult sports complex spanning over 750,000 square feet in Ashtabula County. Orloff said conservative estimates show the facility, which attracts clubs, tournaments and a residential academy for high school student athletes, contributes at least $50 million to the local economy each year.
The for-profit organization is now eyeing an opportunity to increase its appeal and revenue streams. SPIRE and its parent company Geneva Sports LLC recently partnered with gaming operator, Out The Gate, to apply for a retail and online sports betting license from the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
The leaders are already addressing possible criticisms concerning the fact of having games of chance near an establishment intended for young people.
“It won’t be near our kids, it won’t be something they have access to,” Orloff explained. “It will be secure. And it will be a far cry from anything we do at the resort.
He said management is still in the process of identifying the best location for a sportsbook. Possibilities include a new mall with a hotel and cafe outside the main campus. Orloff also said there are hundreds of acres owned by SPIRE that could work.
Bill Ordine of BetOhio.com thinks sports betting on SPIRE would be more separated from children than they would be exposed to when sports betting appeared on professional sports sites.
“People are really missing the point, when it comes to youth exposure, in this specific regard,” he said.
Additionally, Ordine said that Out The Gate plans to offer its service to more sophisticated sports bettors, who he says aren’t served by many popular sportsbooks, rather than young or newbie bettors.
Both he and Orloff believe revenue from gambling could benefit communities like Ashtabula County.
“This is done by the state in order to encourage economic development in areas that need economic development,” Ordine said.
Ohio’s law making sports betting legal on Jan. 1 requires that 98% of tax revenue from sports gambling be donated to a fund supporting public and private schools. Half of the money should go to K-12 education and the other half should go to interscholastic sports and extracurricular activities.
“You can imagine a 750,000 square foot sports complex. It’s a lot to heat up, cool down and clean up,” Orloff said of SPIRE. “It’s not easy. You certainly can’t organize something of this size with just regional events. You have to grow, and the goal is to keep growing and creating more and more space for the community.
Besides the sports complex, many visitors come to Ashtabula County for its wineries, access to Lake Erie, and summer spots like Geneva-On-The-Lake.
“I was thinking of going to Florida for the beach, but I had never been on the lake, so I decided to check it out and see what it was like,” said Roger Enchelmeyer, who was visiting Geneva-On-The- Lake from Southern Ohio.
He said a sportsbook in the area would be an added benefit to hanging out in town.
“Especially if they were showing live sporting events as they were happening, I would definitely participate in that,” he said. “When Indiana legalized it and they put a sportsbook in one of the casinos just over the state line near Cincinnati, I went there specifically to make it the ‘experience.”
Ashtabula County Commission Chairman JP Ducro praised the investment and economic impact that SPIRE has already made in the community. In a phone call, he told News 5 county leaders that they plan to review any concerns about sports betting in the county, including gambling addiction and youth exposure. But he also said something that attracts more visitors and brings revenue to the community could be a positive addition.
SPIRE’s sports betting license application is still pending with the state.
“We are all sitting here waiting to see what happens. And if that happens, great. If not, we’ll move on and take the next step,” Orloff said.
On January 1, 2023, up to 25 sportsbooks will be in operation in Ohio.
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