Black Sheep Performance, the Blue Ash training facility best known around town as the offseason workout spot for Bengals stars Joe Burrow and Sam Hubbard, is getting ready to seriously bulk up. Owners say a project now in the works will add a turf surface, extend training lanes and create a 24-hour gym area that will more than double the usable space inside the industrial-park building.
According to Cincinnati Business Courier, co-founders Patrick Coyne and Javon Harrison have laid out plans for a large artificial-turf training area, additional strength-and-conditioning stations and new client amenities. The Courier’s report includes photos of the current space and renderings of the expansion, and the owners told the outlet the project is a response to growing demand from professional athletes, high school programs and private clients.
How the gym grew
Black Sheep opened in 2018 and has steadily grown from youth speed-and-agility clinics into a full slate of pro-level strength and conditioning, the gym’s own Black Sheep Performance page notes. Beacon Orthopaedics highlighted a partnership with the gym that connected Black Sheep to local sports-medicine resources, signaling that it has grown beyond a simple neighborhood workout spot.
Why Bengals keep it local
The facility’s pro cachet is very real. WCPO reported that players including Joe Burrow and Sam Hubbard routinely train at the Blue Ash gym in the offseason and praise its focused, coach-led environment. The team’s official site has also published offseason photos of players working out there, underscoring Black Sheep’s role in player preparation and recovery, as shown on Bengals.com.
Business side and timeline
The Cincinnati Business Courier reported that Black Sheep brought in roughly $2 million in revenue last year, and the owners told the paper the added space will let them scale private training, small-group classes and youth camps. The expansion is also expected to give the gym room to host more pro-level sessions without disrupting public hours, managers said.
For Blue Ash, the upgrade could mean more foot traffic for nearby restaurants and sports retailers, and it adds another notch to the suburb’s growing reputation as a training hub. Black Sheep says it will post more details about membership and programming as construction moves forward.
