SANDUSKY, Ohio – Ripken Baseball has acquired Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio, located between Cleveland and Toledo.
Ripken Baseball takes over the operation of the complex beginning with the 2023 season, which is underway with more than 50 tournaments on its schedule. The acquisition increases Ripken Baseball’s total number of youth sports complexes to six nationwide.
Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center includes multi-purpose fields with the capacity of 11 baseball/softball synthetic turf diamonds or eight full-size soccer fields that are convertible to create up to 21 youth soccer fields, in addition to one ADA-compliant field for adaptive sports. The state-of-the-art playing surfaces allow the complex to host baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and youth football tournaments.
“Adding Sports Force Parks to the Ripken Baseball family is significant on many levels,” says Michael Kenney, CEO of Ripken Baseball. “The proximity of the complex is ideal for families looking for a complete entertainment experience with a world-class amusement park down the road at Cedar Point.”
As part of the acquisition of Sports Force Parks, Ripken Baseball also assumes control of youth baseball tournament operator 17 Tournaments and travel planner Oakwood Lodging Group. Named after the size of home plate, 17 Tournaments brings youth baseball tournaments to Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. Oakwood Lodging Group assists teams traveling outside their home market to book hotels, flights, and other travel needs.
“When my late friend, co-founder, and the vision behind Sports Force Parks, Brian Storm, first dreamed of entering the youth sports business, he endeavored to build parks where sports, family, and fun could bring people together,” says Mark Stalnaker, president of Sports Fields, Inc. “The model was built on the strong foundation that Ripken had already established for baseball but also added a variety of other sports such as soccer, softball, and lacrosse. Brian would be thrilled to see the growth opportunities that the industry leader Ripken Baseball can offer to Sports Force Parks employees as they are the backbone of the brand and have made the companies so successful.”
Sports Fields, Inc. designed, built, and managed Sports Force Parks at Cedar Point Sports Center, and also created Oakwood Lodging and 17 Tournaments. Sports Fields, Inc. is one of the also designed and constructed The Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge, several fields at The Ripken Experience Aberdeen and The Ripken Experience Myrtle Beach, and more than 100 fields for the Cal Ripken, Sr Foundation.
