Muhammad Ali's training camp near Dear Lake sits silent. Right now, it's an abandoned bed and breakfast, But that's about to change.
One of the late, great Ali's biggest fans just bought it, and he just happens to be the son of legendary football coach John Madden, Mike Madden.
"I'm going to remember Ali my way," Madden began. "So I just started, you know, doing google searches and things and I stumbled upon, you know, I wonder what happened to Deer Lake. So I typed it in and comes up that it's a bed and breakfast and it's for sale and so, I thought, you know, this is kind of a sign."
Madden bought the five acre facility and immediately contacted Gene Kilroy, Ali's business manager. He and Ali built the camp from scratch. Madden's plan didn't take much convincing.
"It's good to see someone that really cares," Kilroy said. "He's going to keep the legacy alive and I just pray to God that everybody welcomes him like they did us."
"It's a real pleasure and honor to be hearing about the camp and learning about how it got created and how it ended up here from the guy that was there through it all," Maddens said. "The first thing is just restore it. It was built in the early 70's and there's just some construction projects that need to take place."
What that leads to? Madden doesn't even know. But whether it's a functioning facility, an Ali museum or anything in between, one thing is for sure.
"It's not only good for Muhammad Ali's training camp, but for everybody in this area," Kilroy said. "In Pennsylvania, the big thing right now is Valley Forge. They go to Valley Forge and the Liberty Bell, but I want to see Ali's camp. This is going to be an historical shrine."
"Just an exciting project for me and looking forward to restoring it and having it be shared by many," Madden said.