![\"Hamilton](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/40f89021daa8f642714b751d245135b1-1024x613.png\")
<\/p>\nMANSFIELD \u2014\u00a0A former City of Mansfield park once known for its baseball and softball fields may soon welcome a different kind of athlete.<\/p>\n
Local businessman and owner Dan Niss is in the process of purchasing the former Hamilton Park and expanding Westbrook Country Club, which he owns with his wife, Brenda.<\/p>\n
The Richland County Land Bank board voted Wednesday to sell about 19 acres of the property to Niss for $50,000. <\/p>\n
Niss plans to establish a nine-hole golf course there with a \u201cstate-of-the-art\u201d teaching and practice facility, according to a business plan submitted to the Land Bank board.<\/p>\n
Niss will purchase the property with a development mortgage \u2014 meaning the Land Bank retains the right to \u201cclaw back\u201d the property if the purchaser doesn\u2019t follow through with the proposed development plan. <\/p>\n
However, that didn\u2019t seem to be a concern among members of the Land Bank board.<\/p>\n
\u201cDan and Brenda, they have made a lot of investments all over Richland County,\u201d said Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry, a Land Bank board member.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to continue to work with them for many years to come. They love to get things done and they\u2019ve got lots of ideas. So I think this is going to be a great step in that direction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dan and Brenda Niss didn\u2019t attend the meeting and were not available for comment by the time this story published.<\/p>\n
(Below is a PDF showing the business plan for \u201cThe Diamond\u201d at Westbrook Country Club.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The former Hamilton Park was located just north of U.S. 30 on the city\u2019s north side.<\/strong><\/p>\n Business plan lays out vision for beginner-friendly course and educational center<\/p>\n \u201cThe Diamond\u201d at Westbrook Country Club will be a par-3 style course with distances ranging from 94 to 201 yards with a total yardage of 1,054 yards, according to the business plan. <\/p>\n The teaching and learning center will consist of two open bays facing the course, an indoor putting green and space for workshops, as well as a pro shop.<\/p>\n The Diamond will be designed to promote inclusivity, development and growth through golf, according to the plan. <\/p>\n The business plan states the facility will emphasize accessibility and learning by providing a comfortable teaching environment for beginners and selective programming for schools, veterans and adaptive athletes. <\/p>\n It also lists middle schools and high schools as a target group for clinics and seminars. Golf course architect Tyler Rae<\/a> is identified as the course designer.<\/p>\n Perry said to her knowledge, there isn\u2019t a rendering or design mock up for the course yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have kind of a loose idea of where the holes would go for the golf course, but they\u2019re going to need to figure out the clubhouse and all that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hamilton Park was located on the north side of Mansfield, directly north of U.S. 30. <\/p>\n The Richland County Land Bank assumed ownership of the property in 2020<\/a>, when the city of Mansfield divested 10 \u201cun-utilized or under-utilized parks\u201d to the Land Bank.<\/p>\n While the other nine parks were between one and three acres each, Hamilton Park spanned more than 20 acres. <\/p>\n The land bank previously voted to \u201chold\u201d the site for Dan and Brenda Niss after they expressed interest in June 2022.<\/a><\/p>\n The Diamond will be directly adjacent to the former Lumberman\u2019s Insurance Property, which the Nisses purchased in 2022 to build condominiums<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the other side of the Lumberman\u2019s property is the Westbrook Country Club, which the Nisses also own.<\/p>\n Dan and Brenda Niss have provided financial support for the Niss Athletic Center at Ashland University<\/a>, 33 Forever<\/a> and sponsored the City of Ontario fireworks show<\/a>.<\/p>\n Niss also operates Niss Aviation<\/a>, the fixed-base operator at Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.<\/p>\n In 2021, Harmony House Homeless Services, now known as Wayfinders Ohio, had hoped to obtain the former park for a project it estimated at $16 to $22 million to relocate its West Third Street facility.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/hamilton-park-1024x598.png\")
Above is a slide from the Richland County Land Bank showing the land being purchased by Dan and Brenda Niss.<\/strong><\/p>\n