New “Challenge Accepted Sports Facility” helps keep athletes out of the cold

BLUEFIELD, Va. (WVVA) -The Challenge Accepted Sports Facility has taken over the space that used to be the former Bluefield Rescue Squad. The facility has multiple places to train, including batting cages and a weight room. The owner, Tom Wimmer, says he wanted to build challenge accepted to allow athletes in sports like baseball, softball, and soccer to practice without worrying about the elements.

“Our vision for this place became several years ago with raising kids up in the community is to have a all-inclusive sports facility for inclement weather that we have in our area for kids to come in and be able to play ball, practice, and better their skill sets for the upcoming seasons,” says Wimmer.

Wimmer adds, Challenge Accepted isn’t just a place to train. There’s a retail element. It features a shop to sell sports equipment. He says the merchandise here would normally take hours of driving to get your hands on. There’s more here than individual training opportunities; teams are welcome as well. Upstairs there’s a 50-75 person conference room at Challenge Accepted. This room has been the playing field for some cornhole and Madden game tournaments.

There has already been positive feedback to the facility in the short time it’s been open. There are local teams signed on to capitalize on what challenge accepted has to offer, like the Bluefield State University Softball Team. Rocky Stinson, the head coach says they train there five days a week over the winter.

“Tom here, he gives us a good opportunity to come inside on days we get bad weather, all the snow and everything popping up on us. Yesterday, we were supposed to have a game today, but it had to get postponed because the field was frozen this morning, so we get to come in, we use the cages in here, get to use the turf, get a little infield work in, do a little conditioning, everything like that. So... it’s a great opportunity for us to get inside and we can do it all day long...” says Stinson.

In addition, Challenge Accepted also brings the baseball-softball travel sports group Top Gun Sports to the area, giving young athletes the chance to participate in tournaments. Wimmer hopes to encourage kids in the community to get involved with sports and have fun while being active.

The facility is open 24/7 for members to use. If you’re interested in membership with Challenge Accepted, you can contact them on their Facebook page or at 304-920-7101.

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