New sports complex opens its doors in Norwalk

NORWALK — This isn't just big. It's extreme. The Xtreme Fitness and Sports Complex held its grand opening Saturday morning and one step inside is all you need to see just how massive the facility is. Some remember the old building at 15 E. Water St. as the former Maple City Ice Co. And after that, it was home to Mid-Ohio Wines Inc. For a long time, the old building sat empty, but that has all changed. Drew Schafer and his ex-wife, Ashley Schafer, are the owners and business partners. He is a 2004 graduate of Monroeville and will be a full-time owner. Ashley is a 2001 MHS graduate and she will keep her job at the airport in Cleveland while running the business on the side. The building features a huge workout room, along with a wrestling room. Still to come are batting cages, turf and a walking track. "Honestly, when I was big into bodybuilding and we lived in Cleveland, we would come home on the weekends or something to work out and there was never really a big like gym like this where you have four or five machines for every single body part," Schafer said. "There is a wide selection ... there is something here for everybody. Everything. "Like a one-stop-shop." The two purchased the building in August and it was nine long months of hard work to get it ready to go. "The building was for sale and I just looked into it," he said. "It worked out — 48,000 square foot. By the time it is all done you will have batting cages and turf on this side. A sports complex up there ... A walking track. It is endless. I have the whole building. "A lot of people are interested ... honestly, I think we have 80% of it figured out." It was a real team effort to get the business started. "Both of our families have really helped out," Schafer said.