Self-Guided Visit
Dining and Bar Visit
A meal or drink at the downtown Yakima restaurant and bar, where staff are known to share the building's history and reported activity with curious patrons.
- Duration:
- 1.5 hr
No photograph
on file
on file
HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
- 01Glasses falling without apparent cause
- 02Chairs moving on their own
- 03Glowing orbs
- 04Unexplained electromagnetic and audio findings during investigation
Haunted Dining / Bar
Yakima Sportscenter
A century-old downtown Yakima bar and eatery whose upper floors once held a hotel and brothel, where staff and a paranormal group report unexplained activity.
214 E Yakima Ave, Yakima, WA 98901
Wheelchair Accessible
Research-Backed · 4 sources
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant and bar with standard menu pricing; no cover for the haunting reputation. Some bar areas are 21+.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor restaurant and bar. The historically significant upper floors are not part of the public dining area.
Equipment
Photos OK
Upper floors operated historically as a hotel and then a brothel · Part of downtown Yakima's early vice-era district · Rebuilt as a modern family-friendly restaurant and bar under later ownership
The Sportscenter occupies a building at 214 E Yakima Avenue in downtown Yakima dating to the early 20th century. The upper floors served first as a hotel and later as a brothel, part of a downtown district that, as the Yakima Herald-Republic has documented, was known in its early decades for gambling, bootlegging, and vice.
Reporting by the Yakima Herald-Republic and NBC affiliate KNDO/NBC Right Now describes a building whose full history is difficult to reconstruct precisely because of the nature of its early uses. Rumors of deaths and a stabbing on the upper floors have circulated locally, though both outlets note that documentation of those specific incidents has not been found, and they are treated as unverified local tradition.
Under later ownership the ground floor was rebuilt into the modern Sportscenter, a restaurant and bar marketed as a family-friendly downtown gathering place. The building's transformation from a vice-era hotel to a community establishment is itself a thread of downtown Yakima's history. The venue's staff and management have leaned into the building's reputation, sharing stories with patrons and, in coverage by KATS-FM and YakimaTalk, confirming the haunting rumors that surround the upper floors.
Sources
- https://katsfm.com/yakima-sports-center-is-haunted/
- https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakimas-sports-center-has-secret-past-and-spirited-storytellers/article_e176fae2-cc2d-5671-845a-141ca6aa1dc2.html
- https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/even-dead-men-aren-t-noticed-downtown-yakima-once-had/article_8d6e9c90-f079-11e8-b99d-5b7c49ea3f1b.html
- https://yakimatalk.com/2022/09/06/supernatural-spots-around-yakima-a-look-at-4-paranormal-phenomenons-in-the-valley/
Glasses falling without apparent causeChairs moving on their ownGlowing orbsUnexplained electromagnetic and audio findings during investigation
The Sportscenter is among the better-known reportedly haunted businesses in the Yakima Valley, and unlike many such venues its management has publicly confirmed the activity rather than dismissing it. In coverage by KATS-FM, the manager confirmed the haunting and tied the reports to the building's brothel-era upper floors and the deaths and stabbing said to have occurred there.
Staff accounts collected by local outlets describe glasses falling without cause, chairs moving on their own, and glowing orbs seen in the building. The Spirit Research Society, a local paranormal group, investigated the Sportscenter using audio recorders and electromagnetic-field sensors and reported findings it could not explain, according to KATS-FM's reporting.
YakimaTalk's roundup of supernatural spots in the Yakima Valley lists the Sportscenter among the area's most-cited haunted locations. The reported activity is concentrated in and attributed to the building's older upper floors rather than the modern dining room, and the specific historical deaths remain undocumented, so the lore is presented as collected accounts rather than established fact.
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experienceSources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
- 1.katsfm.com/yakima-sports-center-is-haunted
- 2.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakimas-sports-center-has-secret-past-and-spirited-storytellers/article_e176fae2-cc2d-5671-845a-141ca6aa1dc2.html
- 3.yakimaherald.com/news/local/even-dead-men-aren-t-noticed-downtown-yakima-once-had/article_8d6e9c90-f079-11e8-b99d-5b7c49ea3f1b.html
- 4.yakimatalk.com/2022/09/06/supernatural-spots-around-yakima-a-look-at-4-paranormal-phenomenons-in-the-valley
Similar Destinations
Haunted Dining / Bar
Ghost Alley Espresso
Seattle, WA
Ghost Alley Espresso was opened around 2014 by Mercedes Carrabba in a 147-square-foot space in Pike Place Market's Post Alley, near the Market Theater Gum Wall. The space previously functioned as a service room for a public restroom attendant. The shop doubles as a headquarters for Market Ghost Tours.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Haunted Dining / Bar
Sycamore Square (Mason Block)
Bellingham, WA
The Mason Block was completed in 1890 in Bellingham's Fairhaven district, a Richardsonian Romanesque commercial building named for Tacoma investor Allen C. Mason. Its top floor housed the all-male Cascade Club, which hosted visitors including Mark Twain and William Howard Taft. It was rehabilitated in the 1970s and is now known as Sycamore Square.
$$ All Ages
Family: High
Haunted Dining / Bar
McMenamins Spar Cafe
Olympia, WA
The Spar opened June 28, 1935 as a downtown Olympia eating and recreation parlor serving dockworkers and loggers. It stayed family-owned for about 60 years before McMenamins acquired it in the mid-2000s, closing it briefly to restore the 1935 look.
$$ All Ages
Family: High
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Yakima Sportscenter family-friendly?
Family-friendly restaurant by day. The haunting lore involves references to historical deaths but is not graphically presented. Some bar areas are 21+ in the evening. Overall family fit: Moderate.
How much does it cost to visit Yakima Sportscenter?
Restaurant and bar with standard menu pricing; no cover for the haunting reputation. Some bar areas are 21+.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Yakima Sportscenter wheelchair accessible?
Yes, Yakima Sportscenter is wheelchair accessible. Terrain: Ground-floor restaurant and bar. The historically significant upper floors are not part of the public dining area..