An $8 million sports complex has opened in Burlington, Kentucky, on a patch of land its developer bought from the airport for just a dollar. The Bend, a 30,000-square-foot facility at 1930 Conrad Lane, features pickleball courts, indoor soccer fields and a brewpub.
The project traces back to 2018, when Brad Trauth purchased the roughly 5-acre former airport parcel for $1, according to The Business Journals. Trauth Homes is developing the property. Trauth, an avid biker, drew inspiration from family rides and envisioned a concept like Fifty West. The wooded, undeveloped parcel had a deed restriction prohibiting residential development, a hurdle the Boone County Fiscal Court addressed in January 2025 when it held the first reading of a zoning map amendment rezoning the parcel from Rural Suburban to Industrial One, according to LINK nky.
A Trail-Adjacent Hub for Pickleball and Soccer
The facility sits alongside a multi-use path along North Bend Road, per the same Business Journals report. The trail push is already well underway: the CVG Loop Trail includes nearly 10 miles of connected trail, and funding efforts are also underway, according to Tri-State Trails.
That local corridor now feeds into something much bigger. In June, regional planners unveiled a 934-mile Northern Kentucky Regional Trails Plan connecting Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, positioning corridors like the CVG Loop Trail as foundational infrastructure for local recreational hubs, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported.
Pickleball at The Bend
The Bend includes Hawk’s Court, a pickleball destination…