The Courthouse Athletic Center is on South Sprinkle Road in Portage, Michigan. It holds a 4.2 rating from 151 Google reviews. It's a basketball facility running youth leagues and camps, not a gym you join.
And the recent written reviews are unusually consistent about one thing: money. Three of the five carry two stars. If you're about to enrol a child here, this is the page to read slowly.
You Pay To Watch Your Own Kid
Two parents, fifteen months apart, raise the same charge.
A parent in December 2024, two stars: "Love the cleanliness of the facility, but if my children are paying to play in leagues why charge more per person, $4 each, to watch for every time we go? I think comparing this to kingdom, soccer spot and all other area facilities this is just a grab to get more money and unnecessary. The other facilities do NOT do this. Increase the league fee slightly!"
A parent in March 2026, two stars: "A team pays over $1,800 to play 2 games a week, plus any non player/coach pays $4 to enter facility."
Four dollars per spectator, per visit, on top of the league fee. And the first parent names competitors, Kingdom and Soccer Spot, and says they don't charge it.
That's the most actionable fact on this page. A family of four watching a weekly game pays sixteen dollars a week to sit on a bench. Over a season that's real money, and it's the sort of cost that doesn't appear in the headline league price.
Before you sign up, ask what the door fee is for parents and siblings, and whether it applies every single visit.
The Price Complaint Is Broader Than One Fee
A parent in March 2025, four stars, is fair-minded about it and still lands in the same place: "It's a bit pricey for Moms on a tight budget trying hard to keep boys busy in organized basketball. BUT, ALL PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES ARE. It would be nice if the programs were a few weeks longer, for how much they cost, or met an extra day per week for more practice/play time. It's just a lot per day, per hour, per kid. There's a big profit margin here. Food for thought."
Three separate parents, across three separate years, independently conclude the operator is margin-focused. I can't verify anyone's business model and I won't pretend to. But when three unrelated customers reach the same conclusion without talking to each other, that's worth putting in front of you.
A Camp Was Cancelled Without Telling Anyone
A parent in December 2025, two stars: "I signed my daughter up for a basketball camp over Winter break. The facility canceled the camp without notifying me. Pretty lame. I drove out during a snowstorm."
Drove through a snowstorm to a camp that had already been cancelled.
One account, and cancellations happen when numbers don't materialise. The failure here isn't the cancellation, it's the notification. If you book a camp, confirm the day before and make sure they have a phone number they'll actually use.
The Officiating
The March 2026 parent again: "The standard is to continually have refs that don't know the basic rules let alone make correct calls consistently. Hard to tell the 7th and 8th grade boys to play through it and ignore when it's this bad, but it's not 1 or 2 missed calls a game, the refs let both teams get mugged until both sides are overly frustrated."
That's one parent's view of officiating quality, and every youth league on earth has a parent who thinks the refs are bad. I'd treat it as one opinion rather than a finding. The specific claim, that play gets rough and stays uncontrolled, is at least something you can judge for yourself by watching a game before committing.
The Case For
It isn't all money. A parent in August 2025, five stars, gives the best account here: "My 7 year old was hesitant to try basketball and wanted to back out the morning of. With a little tough love, he made it onto the court. Within 5 minutes, he was smiling and having a blast. The staff did an amazing job making it fun and keeping the kids moving, using drills that let kids focus on their own progress rather than comparing themselves. At the end, my son said, 'you were right about basketball.'"
Drills built around individual progress rather than comparison is a genuine coaching choice, and it's the sort of thing that turns a nervous seven-year-old into a player. That parent also mentions the facility donates locally.
Two other parents praise the cleanliness, and one names a helpful staff member, Ed.
So the picture is coherent: good coaching, clean building, and a pricing model that a lot of parents resent.
Hours
Monday to Friday, 06:00 to 21:00. Saturday, 08:00 to 12:00. Sunday, 13:00 to 17:00.
Note the weekend. Four hours on Saturday morning, four on Sunday afternoon. For a youth sports facility, that's a narrow window, and it's presumably when the leagues run.
7365 S Sprinkle Rd, Portage, MI 49002. Phone +1 269-329-0033, site thecourthouseac.com.
FAQ
Do spectators have to pay?
Two parents say yes: $4 per person, per visit, on top of league fees. One says nearby facilities don't charge this.
How much is a league?
A parent in March 2026 says a team pays over $1,800 for two games a week. No per-child figure is published.
Is the coaching good?
A parent describes excellent coaching that won over a reluctant seven-year-old, using drills focused on individual progress.
Can camps be cancelled?
A parent says a winter camp was cancelled without notification, and they drove out in a snowstorm. Confirm before travelling.