What’s Going On: The grand opening through Jan. 29 of Buckeye Sports Center, a premier boating dealership (ranked #9 by Boating Industry Magazine in 2022) serving northern Ohio boaters since 1960, offering service, sales, accessories. Huron is only its second location and will offer 30-40 boats on display inside, both new and used boats for sale, a service area, and one of the best pro shops in the Northwestern Ohio area, featuring plenty of watersports accessories including Helly Hansen Clothing. On display are 10 boat brands and Hobie Kayaks. President and owner Bob Armington, said the business was started by his grandfather in Cuyahoga Falls as more of an outdoor sports store with general sporting goods, ski equipment, in addition to boats.
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A exterior sign celebrates the opening of the Buckeye Sports Center. (Photo courtesy of the Buckeye Sports Center)Why is it important: Huron was chosen for its great location and convenience for customers to come from Sandusky and Catawba areas as well as some of the western Cleveland suburbs. “Our Route 2 and Rye Beach Road location has excellent highway exposure,” Armington says. “We have been operating in Cuyahoga Falls near Akron since 1960 and now have a location where most of the boaters in Ohio actually boat.” The Huron facility, with a new 20,000 sq.-ft. showroom and service facility as well as (2) 12,000 sq.-ft. storage facilities is a state-of-the art marine facility capable of being one of the major boat dealerships in Ohio. “This location was built to meet our needs and those of the boating public well into the future,” Armington says.
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The exterior of the Buckeye Sports Center. (Photo courtesy of the Buckeye Sports Center)What it means for Huron: This state-of-the-art facility was designed from the ground-up as a premier marine dealership. Boaters around the region will come to the Huron facility and be greeted by friendly staff, have a great selection of boats from many of the top brands in the marine industry, and as the company grows, so will its staff. The Cuyahoga Falls location has about 40 employees, while Huron will begin with about 10-12. Jim Armington, Bob’s father, is still very involved in the business and spearheaded the Huron dealership, working directly with Huron city officials and contractors to make it a reality.
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Boating accessories are available at the store. (Photo courtesy of Buckeye Sports Center)What does the future hold? “We are very happy to now serve all of northern Ohio and our focus is making sure that all of our customers have a great experience,” Armington says. “Our business philosophy is to provide high-level customer service and if we do that continuously, the sales will naturally grow along with it. That has proved to be the case and that is the reason we were able to make this significant investment into the new location in Huron.”
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The showroom inside the Buckeye Sports Center. (Photo courtesy of the Buckeye Sports Center)The grand opening celebration continues through Jan. 29. To find out more about Buckeye Sports Center, go to
www.buckeyesportscenter.com.