On a quiet afternoon, it's easy to imagine the energy at Fighters Haven, which used to be Muhammad Ali's training camp.
From the main training building with a boxing ring to Ali's personal log cabin and adjacent bunkhouse that accommodates guests and staff, the six-acre camp in Schuylkill County is home to the legendary boxer's championship It played an important role in my career. Of course, Ali was also a prominent civil rights activist, so his story goes beyond sports.
Fighters Heaven is known to Ali and boxing fans, but the camp's management wants to market it to a wider audience. In addition to the museum, there are several cabins available for overnight stays and meetings.
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University student Lauren Mascarell looks into the mosque during a tour of Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. The marketing student will be creating a promotional campaign for Fighter's Heaven to honor Ali's accomplishments and increase awareness of Fighter's Heaven's social media and drive traffic to his pages. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University student Zoe Lee looks at a cereal box with a portrait of Muhammad Ali on it during a tour of Fighters Haven, Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Marketing students will be creating a commemorative campaign for Fighters Heaven. Continuing Ali's legacy, increasing awareness of Fighter's Heaven and driving traffic to his social media pages. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University student Lauren Mascarell looks into the mosque during a tour of Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. The marketing student will be creating a promotional campaign for Fighter's Heaven to honor Ali's accomplishments and increase awareness of Fighter's Heaven's social media and drive traffic to his pages. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali's legacy, raise awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali's legacy, raise awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University marketing students tour Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali, increase awareness of Fighters Haven, and drive traffic to the university. Social media page. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
Lehigh University student Jaclyn Sasson watches video in Muhammad Ali's cabin during a tour of Fighters Haven, Ali's historic training camp, on Monday, February 26, 2024. To honor Ali's accomplishments, marketing students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven. Increase awareness of Fighter's Heaven and drive traffic to your social media pages. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
General Manager Mick Stefanek gives a tour of Fighters Haven, Muhammad Ali's historic training camp, to Lehigh University marketing students on Monday, February 26, 2024. Students will create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven to honor Ali's accomplishments and raise awareness of Fighters Heaven. Heaven, and drive traffic to their social media pages. (April Gamizu/The Morning Call)
On Monday, students from Lehigh University's Promotional Strategy class visited the camp on Scalps Hill in West Brunswick Township, just north of Deer Lake. Under the direction of Professor Laura Smarandesz, the class is embarking on a project to create a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven.
Smarandesk said the project and the trip to the camp were conducted during Black History Month to introduce Ali's legacy to Lehigh students and the community at large.
“Pennsylvania is a state with a rich history in boxing and strong ties to Muhammad Ali,” Smarandesz said. “Choosing Fighters Haven as a theme allows Lehigh students to explore local landmarks of global significance and foster a deeper appreciation of the region's cultural heritage.”
Third-year student Emma DeMarco said the visit was insightful.
“I think we learned a lot of history behind Muhammad Ali's vision and things like that just by being here,” she said. “I had no idea what a place like this was like. I think that's a real insight into how he lived his life.”
The class was given a tour by General Manager Mick Stefanek, who provided a brief history of the facility, which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Wanting to escape the hustle and bustle surrounding his previous gym in Miami, Ali purchased land from mink farmer Barney Pollack and built a camp in 1972. He trained there until his retirement in 1981 and sold in 1997.
Current owner Mike Madden purchased Fighters Heaven in 2016. Madden, the son of football coach and commentator John Madden, is working to restore the camp to its former glory. He reopened it to the public in 2019.
“It was a lot of love, effort, money and tears,” Stefanek said.
Fighters Haven is open on weekends from May through October, or by appointment Monday through Friday. Stefanek said there were about 6,000 visitors last year. In addition to accepting individual visitors, school groups and business groups also come on tours. The camp also has some cabins available for rent via AirBnb.
Admission is free, but visitors are encouraged to donate to charities such as the Muhammad Ali Center in the boxer's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Disease Research. Avenue, Pottsville Adult Day Care. or St. Patrick's Pottsville Soup Kitchen. In 2023, the camp raised $20,000 and distributed it among four organizations.
Stefanek said he is looking for ways to attract more business to the camp, such as corporate training camps, and increase overnight stays to raise money for upkeep.
Smarandeski said Fighters Haven intersects with a variety of disciplines for students, including history, sports management, marketing and tourism.
“This will give students the opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary learning, draw connections between different fields of study and develop a comprehensive understanding of promotional strategies in the sports industry,” she said.
The intended audience for Fighter's Heaven includes boxing enthusiasts, sports and outdoors fans, history buffs, and individuals interested in Ali's life and career.
“Developing a promotional campaign for Fighters Heaven allows students to apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios and measure the effectiveness of their strategies,” Smarandesz said. “By identifying metrics such as recall, engagement, website traffic, and sales data, students can evaluate the effectiveness of their campaigns and gain valuable insights for future marketing strategies.”
Students are ready to help update Fighter's Heaven's marketing campaign.
Junior Sofia Ferrucci, the daughter of a mixed martial artist, heard about Ali's development and became interested in his life.
“I've always heard his name, but we never really got to see firsthand his life or anything like what he was looking for during his training,” Ferrucci said. Ta. “But as a marketer, I think it's always interesting to come across different situations and think about how you can approach them.”
Ferrucci, a graphic design minor, said the camp's logo could be updated. Social media will also be key.
“So we might come up with some ideas, maybe come up with something like a mockup, to modernize it a little bit,” she said. “Or even their Facebook page. I feel like it could be used with a little more modification.
“I think this place is great and I think a lot of groups will definitely want to come here. It has a lot of potential.”
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.
