Key Takeaways
- A four-sheet ice arena is the first approved project inside Maridel, a proposed 258-acre mixed-use development in Delaware County, Ohio, per Maridel Properties.
- Former Columbus Blue Jackets All-Star Cam Atkinson’s Battery Hockey Academy and Ed Gingher’s Ohio AAA Blue Jackets will operate out of the facility.
- The venue is planned for the U.S. Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway intersection, between Marysville, Delaware and northern Columbus.
- Construction cost, financing and an opening date were not disclosed; renderings and infrastructure plans are promised as phased site work begins.
Maridel Properties has received local government approval to build a four-sheet ice arena in Delaware County, Ohio, the first project in a proposed 258-acre master-planned community between Marysville, Delaware and northern Columbus, the developer announced November 4, 2026. The facility will house The Battery Hockey Academy, founded by 13-year NHL veteran and former Columbus Blue Jackets All-Star Cam Atkinson, alongside the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Tier 1 program run by Ed Gingher. Maridel Properties did not disclose a construction budget, financing structure or opening timeline.
Who Is Behind the Maridel Ice Arena
The project pairs a real estate developer with two of Central Ohio’s most visible hockey brands. Maridel Properties is the developer and landowner. Bruce Daniels of Maridel Properties said the company sees sports and youth development as the core of its philanthropic mission and described the arena as a way to build skills, character and confidence in the next generation, both on and off the ice.
Cam Atkinson brings the player-development side. His Battery Hockey Academy is a skills and athletic development organization focused on player performance and hockey IQ, per the company’s description. Atkinson spent 13 seasons in the NHL and was an All-Star with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Ed Gingher’s Ohio AAA Blue Jackets supply the competitive pipeline. Founded in 2004, the organization says it was the first amateur program directly affiliated with an NHL franchise and competes at the top levels of USA Hockey in both boys’ and girls’ divisions. The program credits itself with moving dozens of alumni into junior, college and professional hockey over two decades.
The release describes the arena as a public-private collaboration but does not name the public partner or detail any public funding.
What a Four-Sheet Ice Arena Adds to Central Ohio
Four sheets of ice is tournament scale. Maridel Properties says the venue is designed to make Central Ohio a destination for regional and national youth hockey tournaments while also serving as the elite training headquarters for the Battery and AAA Blue Jackets programs.
The programming mix is broad by design. According to the release, the facility will accommodate youth hockey, tournament play, adult hockey, figure skating and public skates. Plans also include dedicated performance training spaces, team facilities, full-service hospitality and concessions.
The site sits at U.S. Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway, a location Maridel describes as one of Ohio’s fastest-growing corridors. Seat counts, sheet dimensions and total square footage were not released.
The 258-Acre Plan the Arena Is Meant to Anchor
The arena is step one of a much larger build. Maridel Properties describes the full project as a 258-acre master-planned, mixed-use community integrating sports, entertainment, dining, retail, hospitality and public gathering spaces. The developer calls the ice arena the initial anchor and catalyst for everything that follows on the site.
The developer has not published a phasing schedule. It says additional architectural renderings, infrastructure plans and commercial partnership announcements will be released as phased site work begins, and it has launched a portal at maridel.com where tournament organizers and prospective commercial partners can review project plans.
For youth sports operators, the sequencing is the notable detail: a developer has chosen a youth hockey facility, rather than retail or housing, as the opening move for 258 acres in a growth corridor.
Four Sheets First, 258 Acres to Follow
What is confirmed: the approval is in hand, the site is fixed at Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway, and the two tenant programs are named. What is not: how much the arena costs, who is paying for it, when shovels go in and when the first puck drops. Maridel Properties says those details will arrive as phased site work begins, along with renderings and the first commercial partner announcements.
For tournament directors, the near-term question is whether a four-sheet building in the Columbus suburbs opens in time to compete for 2027 or 2028 event dates. Maridel has not said. The portal at maridel.com is where the developer says the next updates will land.
Source: Maridel Properties press release, November 4, 2026, https://www.maridel.com/news/four-sheet-hockey-arena-approved-blue-jackets-the-battery
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How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
