Thomas G. Spiece  

Thomas Gene "Tom" Spiece, 74, of Wabash, Indiana, died Wednesday, December 7, 2022, at Parkview Wabash Hospital. He was born on August 20, 1948, in Wabash, to Richard I. "Dick" and Betty June (Young) Spiece.

Friend Joel Geyer writes:

Tom's grandfather, “Sockey” Spiece, ran a pool hall with gambling in back, in the small farm town of Roann, Indiana. Tom’s father, Dick, was a supply sergeant in WWII under General Patton serving across Africa, Sicily, and Italy. After the war, Dick saw an opportunity and seized it. He bought up large batches of army surplus and sold them town-to-town out the back of a truck (also surplus). Dick’s goods were advertised as 3-cents on the dollar, specifically: Leather boots 65¢, gas masks $1, bicycles $5, even parachutes $21. By the 1950’s he opened the bricks-and-mortar, Dick’s Trading Post in Wabash, Indiana.

As army surplus was fading, Dick’s son, Tom, saw a new opportunity and seized it. In 1976, he bought the store and streamlined it selling popular hot ticket items like jeans, boots, and tennis shoes. He sold every name-brand a couple bucks cheaper than anyone else.

With a peak of eight Spiece stores, he made millions all the while starring in his own brazen, off-the-wall TV commercials. In Egypt, with a caravan of sixty camel drivers behind him, he said with a straight face, microphone in hand, “These are Nubian Camel Drivers, some of the shrewdest traders in the world. Let’s see where they get their tennis shoes?” The camel crew answered one at a time, “Ah, Spiece! Spiece!” Over 50 TV spots followed filmed in Bora Bora, Bangkok, Agra, Dubai, Nairobi, and Istanbul.

Brazen, for sure. Tom was a double-edged sword. If you were his friend, he would cut you a big piece of Helen Wittey’s “Cheery Cherry Pie” that he bid $700 for and won at a county fair auction. It was flakey.. If you were his enemy? Let’s not go there.

But in his memorabilia cluttered office, he pasted on the wall a thank you letter from a kid who won the highest honor given to 4-H livestock, a Purple Ribbon. The kid scribbled, “Dear Mr. Spiece, Thank you for buying my hog.”.

He is survived by his siblings, William (Leveta) Spiece and Cynthia (Tim) Hicks; and was preceded in death by his parents and his brother James Richard Spiece.

Per Tom's request there will be no services. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, Wabash.

The memorial guest book for Thomas may be signed at www.grandstaff-hentgen .com.

He had cottages on the East Shore back in the 1980's and 1990's; first at: 1680 E Shorewhich was known as the William O. Osborn cottage and then at 1614 E Shore Thomas Osborne cottage which the property was best know as the Howell Cottage before it was tore down by the Osbornes. and since 2009 had had another at 986 W. Shore

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Richard I. Spiece Sales Co Inc - Wabash, Indiana - Thomas Gene Spiece, President. Also Does Business As: Spiece; Denim Express, Richard I. Spiece Sales Co Inc was established in 1975 when Richard I. Spiece sold Dick's Trading Post to his son Thomas.

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Kokomo Tribune (Newspaper) - March 27, 1989,

Sporting goods store awaits OK on sublease By March 30 Spiece a sporting goods store could receive the OK to move into the old Kroger store in Markland Plaza Kroger which leases the build ing from Melvin Simon Associates has agreed to sublease the building to Spiece owner Tom Spiece said today He said Melvin Simon has until March 30 to respond Were pretty confident My deal with Kroger is all locked up Now all we have to do is wait on Melvin said Spiece who declined to specify the amount of the pending 10 year sublease He said however the major part of his investment will be more than million in inventory Its obviously more expensive than other places we looked at but I feel well be right in the middle of the Spiece said about the Markland Plaza location Spiece spent three years looking for locations in Kokomo He also was considering locations in Anderson and South Bend The size of the Markland Plaza building is comparable to a square foot Spiece store in Wabash and a squarefoot store in Fort Wayne he said Spiece based in Wabash sells jeans athletic shoes active wear and other sporting good

South Bend Tribune Sep 12, 1992; news srticle on Thomas Spiece, clicking on images will bring a larger one hopefully able to read.

Commercial

Spiece

Businessman gives up records, leaves jail
Associated Press Aug 24, 1994 nwi. com

HUNTINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Wabash businessman Tom Spiece gained his freedom after 25 days in jail but only after he surrendered his business records to state labor officials.

Spiece, wearing a beard and an inmate-issue bright blue jumpsuit, walked out of Huntington County Jail on Monday afternoon after turning over his company's personnel records. He had been jailed for contempt of court July 28 for refusing to make the records available.

Indiana Department of Labor officials said after checking the records they found no evidence that Spiece employed 12-and 13-year-olds at his Wabash store in 1993. An anonymous tipster accused Spiece of employing 12- and 13-year-old employees during that time period.

"I don't have much to say. I guess the state got their way," said Spiece, 45.

We find there were no 12- or 13-year-old violations," said Deputy Attorney General Michael Hostettler after inspecting the documents.

Marilyn Schaab, investigator for the Indiana Department of Labor, said the matter of the 12- and 13-year-old workers was closed.

However, she found Spiece had violated some state labor rules, including having minors work too many hours, said Spiece's attorney, Don Metz.

The state allows minors to work as much as eight hours per day. The violations involved six teen-agers, some of whom had several instances of working as many as 11 hours in one day.

"Those were very," Metz said.

The records were examined at 2 p.m. at the Wabash County Courthouse and Spiece was processed out of jail at about 3:20 p.m.

When Metz announced that Spiece had been freed, about a dozen of the retailer's employees applauded. They were wearing T-shirts, one with a picture of Uncle Sam saying "I want you to free Tom Spiece" on the front and "It could be you!" on the back.'

Spiece is the owner of R.I. Spiece Sales Co., a Wabash-based chain of five northern Indiana stores that sell athletic wear. The company is opening a sixth store in Indianapolis this fall.

He had chosen to go to jail rather than surrender his personnel records to protest the state's reliance on a anonymous informant and his inability to confront his accuser.

"The state is out of control," Spiece said. He said he did not know whether his jail stay was worthwhile or not.

"I just need time to think. I have been in here too many days. I can't answer questions with everyone around," he said. "We will just have to wait and see if any changes come out of all of this at the state level."

1995 - Free the Jeans Man!

A Businessman Defies the State
By Chuck Colson | Published Date: August 08, 1995
Tom Spiece is a businessman in Wabash, Indiana, known for his integrity. When he's not running his six blue-jeans and sporting-goods stores, he's helping the 4-H Club or donating shoes to needy kids.

Now, thanks to an anonymous tipster and some Indiana bureaucrats, Tom Spiece is recovering from unjust jail time. And his experience illustrates why more and more Americans think government is too nosy and too powerf ul.

Tom Spiece had never run afoul of the law. A few months ago, though, an investigator from the Indiana Department of Labor came to one of Spiece's stores. He ordered Spiece to hand over his employment records for 1993. The only basis for this demand was an anonymous tip that claimed Spiece illegally hired 12-year-olds and paid them under the table.

Spiece was outraged. He demanded the identity of his accuser. When the investigator refused, Spiece did what few of us would do: He ordered the Labor official off the premises. Of course the investigator returned—with a subpoena and the county sheriff. Again Spiece was told to turn over his records. And again he refused. For good measure, Spiece wadded up the subpoena, tossed it to the officials, and told them to take a hike.

It was Spiece who took a hike—straight to jail—on charges of contempt of court. Spiece remained unyielding and vowed to remain behind bars until the state identified his accuser. His employees rallied to his defense, and soon "Free the Jeans Man!" slogans appeared on T-shirts in Wabash. Spiece became a Hoosier folk hero.

Newspaper editors who looked into the situation concluded that the state was violating Spiece's constitutional rights. They criticized Labor Department tactics and the agency's threat to fine Spiece $3,000 for each day he continued to withhold his records.

Well, time behind bars is no picnic, as I well know. So after three weeks, Spiece relented — and handed over his records. And they proved what he had maintained all along: He was innocent.

Fortunately, the story of Tom Spiece doesn't end there. Other business owners also were outraged. And Indiana lawmakers are crafting a bill that wo uld give business owners the same right to face their accusers that is enjoyed by even burglars or drug dealers.

I say three cheers for Tom Spiece. The right to face an accuser is one of the oldest protections in our legal tradition. And anonymous charges that unleash the power of big government against an individual can destroy a person's reputation or, as in Tom Spiece's case, jeopardize his property and business.

What's more, the courage Tom Spiece displayed is the same courage our forbearers exercised—the kind that has earned each of us the rights and protections we enjoy.

It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of our liberty. Tom Spiece just proved the point. And he also just proved that one man who is certain of his integrity is still more powerful than anonymous tipsters and overzealous bureaucrats.

Proposed Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne; the Spiece fieldhouse trademark was files Nov 3, 1999 was first used Jul 29, 2000 and registed Jun 5, 2001 m Spiece, a sporting goods owner who opened the 150,000-square-foot center in 2000 with basketball courts, a fitness center, running track and a 45,000-square-foot retail outlet, filled the place with jerseys and memorabilia on the walls and from the ceiling.

1999-2000 - Thomas G. Spiece,was Board Liaison to CCI Woodcraft 1962/Naval 1965, Culver Summer School Almuni Association. 2006 [also listed as 2003] Bill Orwig Medal This award recognizes outstanding contributions made by a non-alumnus to the IU athletic program was recieved by Thomas G. Spiece; DePauw University Athletic Hall of Fame Thomas G. Spiece ’70 - 1995 Board of Director an Elected Member.

During the Tom Spiece’s retail commercials featuring camels were aired on local TV stations and were filmed in the Middle East in the 1980’s and 1990's

In 1999 he had a had vision of opening one of his retail stores in a building that would house the Gym Rats Basketball and a health club. Tom purchased the old Supervalu Warehouse and began construction on Spiece Fieldhouse at 5310 Merchandise Dr. Fort Wayne, IN it is a basketball, fitness center and day spa. With its 8 f ull courts, Spiece Fieldhouse is the most sophisticated, technologically advanced and user-friendly basketball only facility in the US.

2000, May 29 - Tom Spiece's beautiful 8 court Fieldhouse is the new home of all the Gym Rats Basketball [was formed 1992 Gerald Hershey, President ] and IBA tourneys....The maple wood courts and the shock absorbent air panels in the base employs the finest craftmanship of it's kind in the world

Wabash, Ind.- Based Retailer Spiece Operating under Chapter 11.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
February 15, 2001

By Doug LeDuc, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Ind. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Feb. 15--FORT WAYNE, Ind.--The Wabash-based company that owns area Spiece stores has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors for more than a month.

The high-profile regional retailing chain was placed in receivership at Bank One's request, then filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 21 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Spiece, operating now as debtor-in-possession, late last month listed liabilities of $7.1 million and assets of $7 million.

The company employs about 160 workers with stores in Fort Wayne, Wabash, Mishawaka, Marion, Kokomo and Indianapolis selling jeans, athletic shoes and sportswear

Indiana Sporting-Goods Veteran Hopes Huge Gym Will Boost On-Site Retail Outlet.
2001 The Indianapolis Star Byline: Dana Knight

May 8--FORT WAYNE, Ind.-- The score was 5-2 and Tom Spiece was losing.

Five of the long-time retailer's sporting goods stores were set to be shuttered by May, leaving two stores open for business.

The customers who'd been loyal for years had turned stingy, seemingly unimpressed by Spiece's large selections of shoes and jerseys.

Spiece needed something different.

It came in the form of a 150,000-square-foot Spiece Fieldhouse, a novel retail/commercial concept in a bustling business district in Fort Wayne.

At first glance, the fieldhouse is a recreation center with basketball courts, a two-level fitness center and running track.

But plopped in the middle is a 45,000-square-foot Spiece sporting goods store filled with racks and shelves of T-shirts, shorts and sweats.

"I said, 'I'll get them here to play ball and work out, then maybe they'll walk a few feet away and buy something at my store,'" said the feisty 52-year-old Spiece, who completed the $5 million venture in February.

The concept seems to be working. As Spiece's other stores fall victim to flagging sales -- stores in Lafayette, Marion, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Kokomo locations have closed in the past year-- the Fort Wayne outlet is holding its own, says Spiece, who declined to divulge specific sales figures.

And Spiece is monitoring the center closely, with the hopes of bringing a similar venture to Indianapolis. He is actively looking for a location to launch a similar venture in the city. Estimated start-up cost: $10 million.

Inside the center just off of Exit 111A on Interstate 69 the facility imitates the look and feel of a professional sports arena. Jerseys hang from the ceiling, sports pictures of Hoosier legends -- Larry Bird, Steve Alford and Damon Bailey among others -- grace the walls and the smell of sneakers and rubber balls mesh with that of new clothes.

The fieldhouse is set up in the site of a former grocery warehouse, a 133,000-square-foot building Spiece purchased for $2.5 million then poured that much more into renovations and expansion.

He leases much of the center to outside businesses including the fitness center, a collectibles shop and a non-profit youth basketball company Gym Rats -- companies that will bring in the types of sports fanatics who will shop at his store.

The key is that the businesses complement one another.

Last week, the two-level fitness center was abuzz with weightlifters and treadmills' humming.

The 2,000 members who have signed up as members translate into cash for Spiece, p ulling in bodies to shop at his store.

"It's inevitable somebody will forget their shoes or forget their socks," said Vilma Pfeiffer, manager of the Spiece fitness center. "They don't have to leave. They can get it right here."

And just this weekend, Gym Rats brought in 104 high-school aged teams from across the country to participate in basketball tournaments.

When tournaments aren't in town, those courts are open for leagues and individual play.

Gym Rats' co-owner Gerald Hirschy says he and partner Bill Hensley wo uld never have been able to get such a venture up and running on their own.

"We couldn't be where we are without him," Hirschy said of Spiece, who provided the start-up money for the venture. "And hopefully e're helping him to do what he does better."

Spiece says doing better will be a tough task, but he blames his closures on a lack of consumer spending, rather than anything he's done wrong.

And he may be right. In recent months, two of Spiece's competitors have found themselves in the same situation. Finish Line announced in March it wo uld close 17 stores by the end of the year and Logo Athletic filed last year for bankruptcy.

It's a very different retail environment from the one Spiece's father, Richard, found himself in when he started the company. It was just after World War II and Richard Spiece, who peddled surplus military supplies on the street corners in the family's hometown of Wabash, opened an army surplus store there.

Tom Spiece, who attended DePauw University, bought the store in 1972 and by 1995 had grown the company to a $30 million a year venture.

Along the way, his successes -- and his failures -- rarely went by unnoticed. The outspoken Spiece is known in retailing circles for his hard-nosed attitude.

An example: In 1993 he was thrown in jail after he refused to turn over records to Labor Department officials, who were investigating an anonymous tip that Spiece employed underage workers.

That incident still raises Spiece's fury.

"You tell me how one person saying something causes it to be true," he said.

Spiece denies any claims that he employed minors and -- once forced to turn over the records -- he was cleared of the violation.

Spiece doesn't discount the possibility that incident may have cost him a few customers and even hurt sales. But he won't dwell what went wrong. Instead, he said, he'll focus on the new concept.

Sales at the Fort Wayne center peak on weekends when the leagues and basketball tournaments are in town. Kids come in for games with their parents and end up leaving with new wardrobes.

David Benezra made the trip to Fort Wayne last week from California with his Los Angeles Rockfish basketball team.

His first impression of the facility: He'd never seen anything like it. In addition to the Spiece Fieldhouse, Gym Rats has built a 560-person dormitory just next door to accommodate tournament visitors.

Benezra's boys were eager to go shopping as soon as they arrived, he said.

"You've got the wellness center, the store, it's just about everything you want," he said.

Exactly the plan. "After they've been here we hope they don't want to go anywhere else," Spiece said.

Tying together retail with entertainment is another way to enhance the in-store experience, something retailers have been forced to focus on with the onset of the Internet, said Lance Bettencourt, assistant professor of retailing at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

"You've got consumers spending less time in stores than ever" he said. "And on every shopping visit, they're going to fewer stores. This means (retailers) need to do something special so that once I get them in my store they stay around for a while," he said.

An extreme example is the Mall of America in Minneapolis, which meshes a shopping mall environment with an amusement park.

Less extreme, but a similar concept, is the climbing wall at Galyan's, said Bettencourt.

"Sporting goods retailing has been hard-hit in the past decade," he said. "On the one hand, you've got a proliferation of competitors. And on the other hand, you've got consumer trends working against sporting goods. People are buying less sporting goods than a decade ago."

Athletic clothing sales, a $13 billion a year industry, increased 4.7 percent in 2000 -- lower than increases in women's and men's clothing categories. Many experts predict it will fall in 2001.

Spiece, who declines to give specific sales figures, said he only hopes his retail business gains momentum.

"I'm never happy with my figures," he said. "I'm trying to do something that's never been done. It's not easy."

Spiece will rely on the business of loyal customers like Rachel Rodenbeck to stick around as he watches his concept take root.

The 28-year-old Kendallville, Ind., resident was training at the center last week for the Miss Fitness Competition. For the most part she comes to Spiece Fieldhouse to work out.

"The machines here are great," she said.

But even Rodenbeck has been lured in by the retail.

"Oh yeah, I shop there. They've got a great selection."

SPIECE SPORTING GOODS
-- Started in the mid-1940s by Richard Spiece in Wabash, Ind., as an army surplus store.
-- Purchased in 1972 by Richard Spiece's son, Tom.
-- By 1994, the company had grown to seven stores focused solely on sporting goods.
--Within the last year, five of those sites closed leaving two retail locations in Wabash and Mishawaka.
--In February, Spiece completed a new concept called Spiece Fieldhouse, a 150,000-square foot center that features basketball courts, a fitness center, running track and a 45,000-square foot retail outlet.

Spiece Fieldhouse

150,000 square foot facility (2001) it is a retail, wellness,basketball center hosting local, regional, state and national tournaments, camps and leagues - it has 8 regulation wooden floor basketball courts, one NBA court, and 3 smaller courts

In August 2002 the Spiece Retail closed to allow for Spiece Fitness expansion, which was the process of negotiations with Continuum Clubs Inc. out of Napa California.

Sporting Goods and Clothing Retailer to Close Mishawaka, Ind. Store. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

January 29, 2009

Jan. 29--MISHAWAKA, Ind.--R.I. Spiece Sales Co., an Indiana-based sporting goods and clothing retailer, plans to close its only area store by about the first of March...

Owner Tom Spiece, known for his television commercials showing him interviewing Egyptian camel drivers and Hindu minstrels about running shoes, confirmed the closing but declined further comment about what led to his decision.

He verified that the two remaining Spiece stores are located in Fort Wayne and Wabash, Ind., where his company headquartered....

The retail focus was changed to internet sales and the local store in Wabash, IN [306 Manchester Ave ].

Do you remember the Spiece Jeans and Retail Stores? You can still find your favorite jeans through Tom Spiece at Denim Express website besides the Spiece store at Wabash and the Spiece warehouse at 1150 Manchester Avenue which is said to carry thousands of jeans in stock.

On May 1, 2003 Spiece Fitness LLC was sold to Continuum Clubs which was planning to open the new medically based fitness facility and as a result on June 2003 the renovated Spiece Lifestyle Medical Center opened its doors to the public and in May 2007 assets of Spiece Fitness LLC was sold to Ace Performance Team LLC, owned by Tom Spiece and Anne Davis, and does business under the name of "Spiece Fitness and Spiece Day Spa"

Speaking of Sports: Hoosiers in high school hoops heaven
By Jim Turner
...
Tom Spiece once said, "In Indiana, we build a basketball gym that will seat more than a town's pop ulation. Then later we decide whether to attach a school on to it. Sixteen of the 17 largest high school gyms in America are located in Indiana."

That quotation, along with the list of those 16 gyms- ranging from 6,300 to over 9,000 seating capacity- hangs on one of the walls of Spiece Fieldhouse, the marvelous shrine to basketball Mr. Spiece has built in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Most of the walls are covered with framed uniforms of Indiana greats. Sweaters, jackets and just about anything else legendary former Indiana University coach Bob Knight wore during his glory days in Bloomington are on the walls, too. ...

One of Spiece's sporting goods stores is located in the fieldhouse, along with a huge fitness center, a day spa, and a kids' gym.

The centerpiece of the fieldhouse, however, is eight full-size basketball courts. Four of them are arranged side-by-side horizontally. The other four are in two sets of vertical courts.

Runways with some seating are on the second story near the ceiling where fans can watch four or five of the games at a time.

"We take our hoops seriously in Indiana and consider basketball to be much more than a sport," Spiece wrote in the introduction to this weekend's tournament program.. "It is an integral part of our culture with its roots running deeply through our society."... - News-Democrat & Leader - 3 May 2003

2003 - Volume #27, Issue #6, Page #19 Stuffed Boar Draws A Crowd

A 1,325-lb. boar might not be the first thing you'd think of to draw customers into a department store, but for Tom Spiece of Spiece Store in Wabash, Indiana, it's certainly doing the trick. Spiece's stuffed boar is named "Ike," and he stand proudly inside the store. People come from all over to have their picture taken....

Individual enterprise piece Fieldhouse boosts city's economy - without subsidies
By Kevin Leininger
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 10:00 am

City consultants have more than once mentioned Spiece Fieldhouse as the kind of attraction Fort Wayne sho uld do more to promote and duplicate - especially downtown.

Ironic, considering owner Tom Spiece doesn't think much of Harrison Square or other taxpayer-subsidized development projects.

People who know Spiece only through the eccentric old TV commercials for his mostly defunct line of jeans and sneakers stores may be tempted to dismiss him as a crank. But any man who has invested more than $10 million of his own money in a unique business that quietly attracts more than 500,000 visitors to Fort Wayne every year deserves to be taken seriously. Republican mayoral candidate Matt Kelty did just that in April when he appointed the 59-year- old Wabash native to an advisory committee seeking alternatives to Harrison Square.

The $125 million-to-$160 million downtown project appears to be a done deal regardless of what happens in November. But it's still wise to consider the advice of a man who knows the dangers of free enterprise only too well but hasn't lost faith in the wisdom of the marketplace — or government's inability to improve upon it.

“I wouldn't take any subsidies. It's not government's job to support me,” said Spiece, whose love of Indiana University basketball is reflected in the jerseys and other cream-and-crimson memorabilia scattered throughout his sprawling 150,000-square-foot complex at 5310 Merchandise Drive. “I'm noncoercive. Economic progress is made only when there's a willing exchange between buyer and seller.”

The problem with Harrison Square and other tax-supported projects, as Spiece sees it, is that they are coercive - forcing people to pay regardless of whether they use or even care about the product. He's convinced that's one reason polls have shown most of the public opposes Harrison Square's centerpiece - a publicly funded baseball stadium.

Spiece Fieldhouse received no public funds, but pumps millions of dollars into the local economy every year. It also generates an annual property tax bill of about $131,000.

So the question is obvious: If city officials recognize the field house's success and importance, why don't they or some savvy entrepreneur come up with something else equally appealing?

Because that's not necessarily how successf ul businesses are born. Spiece himself is a perfect 'example.

Spiece bought the family jeans business about 30 years ago from his father, Richard, who had begun by selling Army surplus.

Eventually Tom owned seven stores, and traveled all over the world to film TV commercials filled with camels, English-challenged atives struggling to say “Spiece” and his own goofy brand of humor. But he wasn't laughing in 2001 when his previous lenders put his stores into bankruptcy, even though Spiece said he'd never missed a payment. “(The bank) just didn't think Fort Wayne was a good market,” he explained.

Less than two years earlier, Spiece had moved his local store into an old grocery warehouse in a north-side office and industrial park. Turning part of the building into a health club and an eight-court basketball facility, he figured, wo uld generate additional business for his store. The bank-induced liquidation of his inventory put an end to that dream — but spawned another one.

Building on the traffic generated by the tournaments and camps sponsored by Gym Rats, a company formed by two friends in the early 1990s, Spiece added a day spa and a medical wing offering physical therapy and perhaps soon, doctors.

The combination of physicians, health club and related programs wo uld create a unique wellness center, Spiece said. There's lso room for four more basketball courts if necessary.

Don't bet against it.

“(The field house) isn't where I want it to be yet, but it's developing,” Spiece said.

And some of that evolution is being underwritten by what remains of his apparel business, including a retail store in Wabash and, significantly, a growing presence online.

“I'm selling more jeans than I ever did,” Spiece said.

Precisely. People who risk their own money in pursuit of profit are forced to adapt to changing circumstances, new technologies and fickle tastes. When businesses are subsidized with public money, Spiece said, government has a vested interest in assuring success “whether it flies or not.” Spiece, for example, said he never considered downtown for his field house because of the lack of interstate highway access.

I'm not suggesting government has no role to play in economic development. But if the Spiece Fieldhouse is an example of something Fort Wayne sho uld try to duplicate, sho uldn't free-market attempts be promoted with at least equal vigor? “It wo uld be nice to get a sign on the interstate,” Spiece said

In 2010 Gym Rats Basketball Association was created in 2010 after Gym Rats separated from its former national organization the United States Specialty Sports Association.

In August 2011 Spiece Sports Performance LLC was formed by Tom Spiece and several others and in collaboration with Fort Wayne Orthopedics and by the Better Business Bureau has alternate business names of Spiece Fitness, Ace Performance Team, LLC, and Spiece Day Spa

Tom Spiece continues to own the building Spiece Fieldhouse ) tenants being Gym Rats, Inc, owned by Todd Hensley; Ace Performance Team LLC and others. Also Spiece fieldhouse r includes eight basketball/volleyball courts, a spa, workout/fitness facility, pool, sports merchandise store, health bar and much more. It combines the best equipment, latest technology, a highly trained professional staff. Besides it is a museum or type of since it houses much of Tom Spieces sports memorabilia, Hollywood collectibles, antique furniture and modern art throughout that he has collected over the years

Spiece Fitness Health and Wellness Center/Spiece Lifestyle Medical Center

Spiece Fitness is Fort Wayne's premier health and wellness facility and is so much more than a typical gym. Spiece combines the best equipment, latest technology, a highly trained professional staff and a unique environment to provide a wellness center that is truly one of a kind. With over 70,000 square feet within the 150,000 square foot Spiece Fieldhouse, they offer their members a wide range of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

2015 Dec 08
‘Small Town USA’: Television series pilot shot in Wabash
By Emma Rausch

Bearfruit Films crews were spotted in Wabash last Tuesday, Dec. 1, filming the pilot episode of a new travel television series, “Small Town USA....

“James Simmons (owner of Bearfruit Films) had this fantastic idea of a show about highlighting small towns across the country that would normally be overlooked,” Dykhuizen said. “The main thing about the show is trying to prove to someone from the big city why the next destination they might visit could be a small town near them.”.

The series, which focuses on small hometowns of nationally known celebrities, featured Wabash as its pilot episode’s location because of the guidance of Tom Spiece, owner of Spiece clothing store, according to Amy Ford, the production’s local co-coordinator..

“Tom Spiece was the catalyst that brought Bearfruit Films to Wabash,” Ford said “This all stemmed from the relationship he established while the film crew was in Culver, Ind.”.

In Culver, the production company filmed its feature length film “Little Savages,” which Spiece was highly involved in and met Simmons, according to Ford....

Spiece brought Simmons to Wabash on Sept. 12, the day before the Wabash County Dam to Dam Century Ride, Ford said, and did a quick run through of places to feature in town as well as how one could shoot it...

Although the series is currently being independently filmed, the pilot episode will b e offered to major television networks starting in February.

The fruits of her labor: Ossian woman's pricey pies raise thousands for charity
By Tanya Isch Caylor for The News-Sentinelzz
Sunday, July 24, 2016 09:01 pm

There’s a special kind of pie found only in northeast Indiana that costs $100 a slice. It’s an award-winning, secret family recipe that starts with two kinds of cherries and comes baked in its own hand-crafted commemorative ceramic dish.

But it’s not so much the flavor, or its flaky crust, or even the reputation of the artisan who meticulously weaves its lattice topping that makes this pie so desirable.

It’s the fact that you can only get it twice a year – and it’s not only bound to tickle your tastebuds, but enhance your reputation as well.

The Spiece touch

Before Helen Witte’s "cheery cherry" pie made it into the limelight, it started out in the hospitality tent at the Wells County 4-H Fair livestock auction....

Then one year Tom Spiece showed up. This was long before anybody ever heard of Spiece Fieldhouse, back when the Wabash businessman was known as "the Jeans Man" from his over-the-top TV commercials. He created quite a stir, tossing free T-shirts to kids as he made his way through the fairgrounds.

When Witte’s pie was paraded around the ring, Spiece bid it up to $700.

"I thought, ‘My God, there aren’t even 700 cherries in that pie!’" Witte recalls. She was even more astonished when he "sat right there and ate it in front of everybody" as the auction continued.

Spiece never returned. But in the ensuing years an annual pie-bidding competition emerged...

September 24, 2016 1:02 AM
SHERRY SLATER | The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Spiece faces 2 separate foreclosures Owes on loans for fieldhouse, warehouse; bankruptcy filed

A local lender has filed foreclosure papers on Spiece Fieldhouse, alleging owner Thomas G. Spiece fell behind on payments and now owes the full loan balance of about $1.2 million.

Old National Bank also wants to foreclose on a Wabash warehouse owned by Spiece, who previously had two Fort Wayne retail stores and gained local prominence in the 1980s with splashy TV commercials including one taped at the pyramids in Egypt. The outstanding balance on the Old National loan is for about $2.9 million.

Spiece responded to the legal documents by filing last week for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy. He listed debt as almost $4.4 million. His assets are more than $14.6 million, including a Wabash home valued at $230,000.

He listed total monthly income of $88,000 from rent collections and business profits.

By seeking bankruptcy protection, Spiece is pressing pause on the foreclosure action and pressuring the bank to approve a repayment plan rather than demand all its money at once, his lawyer said.

Scot Skekloff, who represents Spiece in the fore­closure action, said Spiece wants to resume payments and would consider selling the Wabash warehouse and its inventory of jeans, which he sells online.

“What Chapter 11 gives him the opportunity to try to do is restructure the debt that he has,” Skekloff said. Skekloff’s law partner and brother, Daniel Skekloff, is representing Spiece in the bankruptcy proceedings.

According to the bankruptcy filing, Spiece has paid at least $47,600 to the attorneys.

Although Spiece’s initial response to Old National’s lawsuit, filed in May, questioned whether he owed the bank for the loans, Old National was listed as a creditor in the September bankruptcy filing. Spiece borrowed the money from Tower Bank.

Evansville-based Old National acquired Fort Wayne-based Tower Bank and all its assets for $110.3 million in 2014. Loans are considered assets because they generate income for banks. Although the two loans were made separately, both buildings serve as collateral for both loans.

Old National’s attorney, Thomas Trent, didn’t respond to messages seeking comment. He filed the first paperwork for the case in March.

Based on Spiece’s personal assets and debts, he could pay the loans back in full. It’s unclear why he fell behind on payments and why Allen and Wabash counties’ treasurers also are among the creditors listed in the bankruptcy filing.

Scott Skekloff, who wasn’t sure how many loan payments were missed, said his client relied on lease income at Spiece Fieldhouse to make them.

“It wasn’t a lot (of missed payments). He wasn’t real far behind. Not years, for example,” the attorney said. “He did have trouble with the rents, collecting rents.”

Spiece Fieldhouse, 5310 Merchandise Drive, houses eight basketball courts, a fitness center, a pro shop and a cafe. Its largest tenant has been Gym Rats, which hosts youth sports leagues, clinics and tournaments.

Dan O’Connell, Visit Fort Wayne’s president, said that although Spiece Fieldhouse is considered a regional destination, it’s really Gym Rats that brings out-of-towners to local hotels and restaurants.

“We estimate that youth sports generate about $30 million (each year) in our community, and we know Gym Rats is the kingpin of that,” he said. “We estimate Gym Rats at Spiece generates a third of that – or roughly $10 million.”

Gym Rats director Todd Hensley couldn’t be reached for comment Friday, but an employee at SportONE Parkview Fieldhouse confirmed that Gym Rats is moving into that facility and out of Spiece Fieldhouse.

SportONE Parkview Fieldhouse, 3946 Ice Way, is a mere four minutes – or 1.2 miles – south of Spiece Fieldhouse off Lima Road, according to Mapquest .com.

Gym Rats plans to continue using some Spiece courts for future basketball tournaments, O’Connell said. Gym Rats organizers typically schedule tourney games in numerous area gymnasiums, including those at the University of Saint Francis and area high schools.

O’Connell doubts the community will lose youth sports tourism dollars from the Spiece Fieldhouse foreclosure.

By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Spiece is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to let him continue operating the business while he signs new tenants, drafts a financial plan and, with creditors’ and the court’s permission, resumes payments on the debt at a renegotiated rate.

His payment proposal – or at least a status report on it – is due to the court within about four months.

2020 - Jan 7 - Spiece Fieldhouse to be auctioned at Sheriff sale FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Spiece Fieldhouse will go on the auction block Tuesday afternoon. The gym, located at 5310 Merchandise Drive, houses eight basketball courts and a fitness center and has played host to thousands of athletes taking part in various sports leagues, clinics, and tournaments According to Allen County Property records, Tom Spiece purchased Spiece fieldhouse in 1999.

The iconic Spiece Fieldhouse could soon be under new ownership. The property went on the auction block Tuesday afternoon.

There were no active bids on the property during the sheriff sale, however WANE 15 has learned that an investor or group of investors intend to purchase the property directly from the Old National Bank.

The gym, located at 5310 Merchandise Drive, houses eight basketball courts and a fitness center and has played host to thousands of athletes taking part in various sports leagues, clinics, and tournaments.

Bidding for the property started at $3.6 million. According to Allen County tax records, the property is valued at roughly $2.7 million.

It is unclear who the investors are or what they intend to do with the property. However, a source with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department said the investor had a promissory note for the minimum bid of $3,630,181.83.

With no active bids on the property, the foreclosure goes back to the bank. The bank would work directly with the investor to close the sale of the property.