Putting the pieces in place

The dream needed funding.

So, starting in 2001, Ohio Premier’s board began setting aside funds for the purchase of land for the field complex. When Baer took over as Executive Director of Ohio Premier in 2014, the club had already raised about 80% of the money they would need for an initial land purchase. The board’s decade-long commitment to the field complex project put the club in a strong position to buy land and begin construction.

It was also a period of turnover at the club, as several board members were leaving their roles after years of service. For Baer, it was a perfect opportunity to surround himself with the expertise he needed to make the club’s dream soccer complex into a reality.

“The first board member that we appointed was the treasurer, Mike Shock. With his background in finance and accounting, he was able to help us determine exactly where club funds were going, and decide how to better allocate them for our future field complex.”

Shock quickly found ways to reduce Ohio Premier’s expenses, and ensured that the club set aside a larger portion of revenue for the future field complex by creating a separate profit and loss statement for the tournament they hosted. This allowed them to keep operations and field development finances separate.

To further improve the club’s financial standing, the club ran several fundraising events and modestly increased player fees. 

That’s when the dream began to feel more real for Baer. “Once we started to see that fund build up, I started to get excited about the possibility of building the complex sooner rather than later.”

Searching for suitable land

In 2015, the club appointed a second new board member, Erin Mullady. Her background in real estate meant that the search for land could begin in earnest. “We started off looking at 4-5 acre parcels, thinking that’s what would work for us, with the money we had and the field space we wanted. Out of the blue, I got a call from Erin saying that I had to go see this 42 acre parcel just outside of town.”

The land, just ten minutes from their current practice field locations, was perfect. 

It was flat, close, and with plenty of space to grow. The club needed to move fast, so with financial support from a backer, they immediately submitted a bid at the owner’s asking price.

It was rejected.

The owner had received and accepted a higher bid on the property. For Baer and the team, it was back to the drawing board. “It was a total bummer, we felt like we had a good idea of the process though. The location, the size, the price, now we knew what we were looking for.” 

The team kept looking for suitable land, but nothing quite fit their needs.

Until a couple weeks later, when the phone rang.

It was the owner of the same 42 acre parcel that they’d just lost out on. The other deal had fallen through. If Ohio Premier was still interested, and could submit a full cash offer within thirty days, then the land was theirs.

It takes a team

The club had been saving money for over ten years in preparation for this moment.

It wasn’t enough.

“We had most of the money that the owner wanted, but we needed to find more quickly, otherwise we would lose out on the land, again,” says Baer. 

Thanks to a charitable financial backer, Ohio Premier managed to scrape together a cash offer that was accepted. 

The land was finally theirs. 

That’s when the real work began.

Building a field complex was a massive project. Plans needed to be made, quotes obtained, dollars budgeted. For Baer, a soccer coach at heart, the details were overwhelming. 

“Throughout this whole process, I felt like I was on a tightrope, that I would fall off if I took a single wrong step,” remembers Baer. “The board members kept telling me to think of it as a river: even if you get stuck on the bank, you just push off and keep flowing downstream. I just didn’t know, I had to really trust the people around me that we could make the project a reality.”

As building quotes came back, it became obvious to Baer that this was going to cost more than he initially thought. With that in mind, he downgraded his expectations. “I thought we might have enough money to get one turf field, and then gradually build from there.” 

The project continued to grow in complexity, so the club brought in Mike Kudla to help manage the details. Kudla’s first reaction toward the project was lukewarm. He thought that the club was leasing the land, which limited their ability to raise money from banks. When he learned that the club actually owned the land, his attitude changed dramatically. 

Owning the land meant that the club could use its value as collateral for loans. The club’s plan to build an indoor facility in the future further increased the land’s value. That meant that when Kudla went to the banks for funding, he wasn’t asking for a loan on a low value group of fields, he was proposing a long-term relationship with a sustainable business that had a potential five million dollar asset.

“Mike kept asking me what I really wanted,” says Baer. “He asked me, ‘all money aside, what do you want to have at the complex?’” 

With Baer’s ideal field complex in mind, Kudla went to the banks to obtain financing for the project.

Funding construction

“I got a call from Mike and I’m expecting to hear that we got enough money for a field or two and all he says is, ‘we got it all.’” The club secured enough financing to build all five fields. 

Baer: “For the first time, we had projections of our future revenue, thanks to our treasurer Mike Shock and our project manager Mike Kudla. When we went to the banks, we blew them away with the level of detail in our planning. We had 5 or 6 banks fighting for our business by the end of it.”

There were strings attached, of course. The bank required an amount of cash in hand that exceeded the club’s expectations. To meet the bank’s demands, Kelley Mitchell kicked off a series of fundraisers: selling coupon books and candy bars.

Thankfully, the fundraisers worked.

Continued planning and construction

As momentum built, support from the club swelled too. “There were initial concerns from some parents that the new facility would only benefit certain teams. Once we were able to get funding for all five fields, we could assure them that every player U13 and up would be using the new complex, while our U8-U12 players would practice in Dublin and Upper Arlington. We got a ton of support after that.” 

Another club parent, Andy English from PLANIT Studios offered his expertise in landscape architecture and design. “I thought the land was flat,” says Baer. “But Andy helped us vet the land and create a topographic map that showed us exactly how much we needed to level it. He also helped us understand the drainage, how much parking we needed, traffic flows. He really helped us understand what the next steps in the process were.”

In 2018, Kyle Adams joined the team to lead on-site project management and coordinate the different phases of construction. On October 3rd, 2018, with all the pieces finally in place, Ohio Premier signed and began construction of their new field complex.

Thanks to Adams’ expertise, construction moved quickly. By July 2019, the first phase of the project was complete. The complex now had five playable fields, high-quality irrigation systems, and fencing.

The club also brought in Ryan DeMay from Field Source to manage the field complex and provide quality care for the fields. "Ryan recommended the specific type of Bermuda grass that we have on our field now," says Baer. "He's so important for his work keeping the fields in top shape."

Just nine months after breaking ground on the facility, Ohio Premier teams started playing on the club’s own fields.

Evolving vision

Baer and Ohio Premier weren’t done yet. During construction in 2018, electrical engineers ran conduits under the fields. “We didn’t want to have any electrical poles in the middle of the fields, so we paid for the conduits even though we didn’t have the funds to get lights yet.” 

After further fundraising, and with decreased expenses from field rentals, the club installed lights in March, 2021. Baer anticipates that the lighting will give the club approximately 100 more hours of available practice time per month. “The extra practice time will allow us to extend the season and give more time at the complex to younger players for small-sided games and technical training.”

While the club already accomplished its goal of creating a field complex, Baer continues to dream up new ways to provide value to the club.

Ohio Premier will field both a U23 Women’s and a Men’s team for players in college or who have recently graduated, so they can come home for the summer and continue to hone their skills.

Baer envisions future additions to the field complex such as locker rooms and bathrooms that would allow the club to host professional and semi-professional games. “Having home and away locker rooms gives us the opportunity to host these major events, and gives everything a more professional feel,” says Baer. 

On the advice of the board, Baer asked coaches for their thoughts on future additions. He was surprised by some of the suggestions.

“One coach said we should put in sand pits for beach soccer. With a sand facility, we’d be able to host different events at our complex that aren’t normally an option for clubs in our region.”

Baer was quick to stress that in order to fund further development of the complex, the club would need to look for sponsorship options and corporate partnerships. When the time is right, then the team will look to enhance their complex, not before.

“The club is like a three legged stool,” explains Baer. “We’ve got players (families), the coaches, and the facilities. As we organized our finances, we were able to invest more in our coach education. Now, with a high quality facility, we can provide players opportunities to improve their game, on a better surface, with better coaching.”

What’s the end goal?

For Ohio Premier, the field complex is just a part of what they want to achieve.

Baer remembers his trip to Europe in 1985 with Derek Armstrong and Nomads Soccer Club. “We went to these towns in Italy, Germany, and Austria and everywhere we went, thousands of people showed up to watch kids play, to see if Americans were any good. Every club had its own field, its own club house, its own cafeteria, showers, even a swimming pool! They were truly community 'clubs.' Everywhere you went there was this sense of passion, of community, of culture.

For Ohio Premier, that’s the true goal. It’s not just about teaching young players to play soccer. It’s about being a pillar of the community, where players learn to play at age five and can keep playing until age 55. 

It’s a long-term goal.

It’s a lofty goal.

But when you consider what the Ohio Premier team has already achieved, it seems like it’s just a matter of time.