An Ohio sports betting applicant that initially raised some eyebrows shared details with Saturday Tradition on its potential plans if it’s awarded a sports betting license from the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Geneva Sports LLC, which operates as SPIRE Institute and Academy, recently applied for an online sports betting (Type A) and retail sports betting (Type B) license in Ashtabula County. In both instances it listed Out the Gate, a newcomer to the sports betting game, as its sports betting management provider. Its applications were submitted before the July 15 deadline and it will be eligible to launch sports betting activities on the Jan. 1, 2023 universal start date if awarded a license.

SPIRE Institute is a 750,000-square-foot facility that serves as world class event and wellness complex. It offers training programs for Olympians, elite youth athletes, professional athletes and Paralympians. It also hosts the SPIRE Academy, which serves as a boarding school for high school students and recent graduates.

Among a sea of casinos, professional sports franchises, and racinos all jockeying for a piece of Ohio’s sports betting market, SPIRE Institute’s application stands on an island of its own for its uniqueness.

SPIRE’s Ohio sports betting plans

But what will a facility that caters towards the training and education of youth athletes do with a potential retail and online sports betting license?

While details on the institute’s plans for a retail sportsbook have yet to be revealed, Rachel Winder, an advisor to SPIRE Institute and Government Relations Manager to Benesch Law, told Saturday Tradition that SPIRE Institute will keep its sports betting plans wholly separate from its athletic facility.

“If SPIRE is granted a license, all gaming operations will be strictly off campus, independently operated, separate from the athletic facility and properly secured,” she said.

She noted that SPIRE’s sports betting application lists 1752 S. Broadway, Geneva, Ohio, as its location for a proposed sports betting or gaming operation. The facility was most recently a restaurant, Chops Grille and Tap House, and is located adjacent to the SPIRE Institute, as evident by a map of the area:

Winder did not comment on SPIRE’s intentions for the location, but said it would be diligent in its sports betting duties as set forth by the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

“SPIRE will be diligently compliant with the duties and responsibilities set forth by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, and the SPIRE team is committed to working with their proposed management services provider, Out the Gate, to ensure legal and regulatory compliance,” she said.

If awarded a Type B license, SPIRE Institute would be the only entity allowed to operate a sports betting facility in Ashtabula County, as its population is between 100,000 and 399,999.