Manoj Shah, 48, is one of the owners of the Tri-City Sports Complex, located on Garfield Road in Auburn, just south of the US-10 freeway. The complex features a very visible air-inflated dome that that covers 72,500 square feet. It’s 65 feet high in the middle and 47 feet tall on the sides. Under the dome is an artificial turf surface the size of a football field. The turf is FIFA-two certified meaning premiere soccer teams from Europe could practice and play on the surface.
The complex is used by teams for practices and games. Sports include football, baseball, softball, lacrosse, and soccer. You can also hit golf balls there. Users come from the Great Lakes Bay Region and from Traverse City and Ohio. Shah and his wife, Robbyn, have four kids, ages 12 to 8, including a set of twins. She’s a teacher in Farwell. Shah’s a graduate of Farmington High School. He earned a bachelor’s in business from Michigan State and an M.B.A. from DePaul University in Chicago.
How long have you owned your business? We opened in 2014, a little over seven years.
What inspired you to own this business? When we moved up here in 2011, my kids and I were playing at the Midland Fairgrounds in a horse barn. In an area with such a demand for sports, that was an inspiration to open this facility. Stan Dulaney was one of our partners. Unfortunately, he was killed on New Year’s Day in 2019 on M-20.
What makes Midland a great place to own a business? There’s an opportunity to help the community grow in different areas: education, communications, sports. Our indoor facility has held other events, Mom to Mom sales, concerts. It’s a space for the public to use, there are costs involved. They have the ability to showcase their talents, like a concert, practices for their organizations. People can decide what they want to do but it’s primarily used for exercise and sports.
What are some ways your business is active in the local community? We’re doing a sock, hat, and glove drive for the winter, possibly coats. We try to give back to certain local charities, sometimes money, sometimes time.
What are some of your interests and hobbies? I love sports. As I’ve gotten older, it’s more about my kids. The entire family plays golf. We like to ski, that’s our vice (laughs).
What are some local businesses you work with that help make your business a success? In Auburn, we work with Tri-City Rental, they help us with our building needs. We work with the Lady Explorers Softball organization, one of the first to use us. Tri-County Nationals, they encompass soccer from the area. We work with some of the local restaurants, O’s in Auburn, BW3 in Saginaw, Hampton Inn, Residence Inn and Spring Hill Suites in Midland. We try to involve a lot of local businesses.
Final thoughts to share with the community? When you look at what’s going on in the world, COVID-19 has hit everybody pretty hard. We try to tell everybody, don’t be afraid to come out. Make sure you’re vaccinated. We want to help. Whatever we can do to help, we will.
