Sept. 16, 2024

The main draw at Great Shots is off-limits for the moment, but the venue was still buzzing with activity on a weekday afternoon last week.

Groups gathered for lunch in the main dining area, multiple meetings were taking place in event rooms and an area with golf simulators was staffed and ready for guests.

“Our restaurant, our bars, all our event spaces are open for business,” said Steve Young, president of the Sanford Sports Complex. “We’ve seen interest in coming out to eat and hosting corporate events and just enjoying the multiple screens and games that can happen at the same time in the main bar.”

By early November, all-new turf is expected to be installed on the golf driving range, so play can resume as normal — with some upgrades.

“Over the last five years, our turf has seen abnormal wear and tear primarily due to the field not draining properly, which causes the integrity of the base under the turf to be disrupted,” Young said. “We’re getting new turf with a slightly new look, which will be fun,” along with a better drainage system, “which will prolong the life of any turf we put on the field.”

During the downtime, Great Shots also is reevaluating the guest experience, he added — “to make sure we’re (achieving) our goals of encouraging transformation and enhancing community well-being.”

The restaurant is offering a limited menu until Great Shots fully reopens.

The golf simulator area is still open, as is the Sanford Sports Academy, which includes simulator-style games for kids.

That’s the flavor of play Great Shots also hopes to offer more of when it fully reopens, Young said, adding the plan is to “capture a grand reopening before our holiday and big campus events happen on the Sports Complex. So November-December should be busy months.”

Increasingly, most times are busy at the Sports Complex, which also recently made improvements to the Sanford Pentagon with a resurfaced Heritage Court, plus new turf at the Sanford Fieldhouse.

“And we got new concrete and parking lot surfaces done on areas that needed some TLC. We are stretching the boundaries with our Fieldhouse and Pentagon and our Academy to near capacity. We’re always looking to be efficient with our programming and find more ways to serve people,” Young said. “But honestly, it’s been really fun to watch.”

He doesn’t have to look far to see new development in the area. The Sanford Virtual Care Center is close to opening later this year.

DSU Applied Research is under construction, as is the first phase of Atlas, a multifamily development from Lloyd Cos. estimated to ultimately include 400 to 600 units.

Also on Westport Avenue, Everhome Suites, a 114-room extended-stay hotel, is planning to break ground this fall.

“Previously, we had heard there were 2.4 million visitors to the Sports Complex, and I’m excited to hear the numbers for the most recent year to see if that actually has gone up,”  Craig Markhardt, president of CAM Cos., the general partner in MSF Hotels, said in a statement.

“I believe we’ll have guests of the Sanford Sports Complex that want to stay three days to a month or two during a training period, and we anticipate we’ll have that since all our guest suites have full kitchens.”

Everhome Suites is Choice International’s newest extended-stay brand, launched in 2020. The company promotes “spacious studio and one-bedroom apartment-style layouts” and suites that separate workspace from play and allow for guests’ customization.

Suites include full-size closets, various storage areas and pet-friendly options.

“Everybody knows you can save money buying groceries and cooking, and when you’re traveling you often don’t have that luxury,” Markhardt added. “The families should be able to go shopping for groceries and cook specific meals for kids or students or athletes that would meet their dietary needs. We anticipate it will be a welcome addition to the Sports Complex.”

Everhome Suites also will offer a multipurpose lobby area, fully outfitted fitness center with cardio and strength training equipment and guest laundry facilities.

Guests can shop a 24/7 self-service marketplace to purchase a variety of fresh and frozen meals, with hot and cold breakfast options that can be prepared in the rooms. It’s expected to open about a year after construction starts.

There’s a market for more hospitality in the area, Young said.

“Both the Fairfield and Comfort Inn & Suites are seeing really good, high-occupancy rates,” he said. “Several weekends over the summer, they were full.”

While the Westport Avenue corridor is in the thick of development, there continues to be conversations about prospects along the Benson Road corridor, he added.

“I think over time that just gets more popular,” Young said. “The campus should look really, really different in the next two to five years.”

Markhardt likely isn’t done developing, either. He has an additional 3.4 acres available and has a vision for a significant multistory development on the land.

“The proximity to the brand-new jobs being created by all these organizations I think will welcome a live-work style of arrangement for permanent residents,” he said. “If you start doing the math or just estimates, I bet there will be $1 billion in development in that 500-acre area.”