At The Courthouse in Brunswick, throwing axes, bouncing around inside inflatables, and cornhole like you’ve never seen it played before make for the perfect out-of-the house adventure
By Patricia Nugent
Part sports complex, part indoor amusement park, all family-friendly fun—The Courthouse in Brunswick is the ideal destination for anyone looking for a little more excitement in their lives.
Spaced throughout this sprawling 50,000-square-foot facility, you’ll discover eclectic venues, from axe-throwing (Lumberjaxe Alley) to obstacle course racing (Xtreme Ninja Warrior); and GellyBall, extreme cornhole, bubble soccer, giant inflatables and extreme water tag (NEO Extreme Games).
Calling All Sharp Shooters
Inside the glow-in-the-dark Glow Zone, GellyBall is like paintball without the paint. Sharp shooters blast tiny, soft water-filled orbs from colorful blasters for both target practice and live group play with people wearing vests that register a hit, all displayed on a wall monitor to keep score. Lumberjaxe Alley offers six throwing lanes of thrills for those 12 years and over. Ten different games are projected on the wall, and throwers toss real axes.
Bubble soccer adds a twist to the game: encapsulating players in inflatables so they can roll, flip, bounce and knock each other down.
Even the traditional pastime of cornhole is taken to extreme limits. An 18-hole cornhole course, like mini-golf, features challenging cornhole boards with the holes in tricked-out orientations.
“I’m like a 12-year-old when it comes to having fun,” jokes Nelson Schorr, who opened The Courthouse late last year. “The main reason I wanted to offer these different activities under one roof is for kids to be kids again. There’s been so much going on in the world and they seem stressed out. This is a place where kids—and adults—can leave all that at the door and have a ball.”
With a college coaching career in basketball, it makes perfect sense that he would devote a large portion of the state-of-the-art complex to the sport. Four full basketball courts are booked with leagues, AAU teams, a basketball academy called Hoop Guru, as well as open play. And there are 10 Swish 365 shooting zones, which are like batting cages for basketball, tracking stats and helping players hit their goals.
Born of Necessity
When Nelson’s kids were younger and full of energy, he noticed they enjoyed the television show American Ninja Warrior.
“They didn’t play traditional sports, so I thought building our own Xtreme Ninja Warrior obstacle course would be a nice way to stay fit and competitive,” he explains. “The course keeps growing and today we have weekly classes for kids ages preschool and up, open gym and summer camps. It features 40 crazy obstacles to run, climb, jump, swing and crawl through.”
And to add to the entertainment mix, Nelson reports that Ignite Brewing Company is soon opening its taproom, dining room, bar and spacious patio within The Courthouse.
Party Central
The only spirit as big as Nelson’s entrepreneurial one is his charitable one.
“We’ve worked with lots of local charities and schools to host their fundraisers,” he says. “They choose the activities and bring the crowd and we split the take 50-50.”
Since loyal fans kept asking for it, Nelson and his support staff made the decision to make their fun pursuits mobile.
“We will bring any activity to peoples’ homes or party venues, except for the axe throwing and ninja course,” he says. “In addition to parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties and weddings, we’ve also gone to corporate team-building functions.”
The Courthouse is located at 1255 N. Carpenter Road, just off Center Road, less than a quarter-mile off I-71 in Brunswick. Call 330-441-2887 or visit NEOExtremeGames.com or XtremeNinjaWarrior.com for more information.