FARGO — The Fargo Park District would still like to start soon on the design documents for a massive new indoor sports complex in south Fargo, but the coronavirus pandemic has been a thorn in its side since early this year.
Drawings for the proposed private-public partnership structure called the Sanford Sports Complex were put on hold in the spring, and it has pushed back the possible start to construction to the spring of 2022.
The pandemic also has hampered fundraising efforts as Park District Executive Director Dave Leker said they would like to see a two-thirds private and one-third district financing to build it.
Sanford Health has already planned its pledge.
A conceptual draft for the volleyball portion of a proposed south Fargo sports complex. Special to The Forum
The regional health care giant owns the 100 acres where the facility would be built, south of the 52nd Avenue Walmart and just west of Interstate 29, and would trade that land with the park district that owns other nearby land.
The Fargo Park District Foundation, formed in 2018 and which is involved in the effort, recently asked park district officials for a tentative timeline for the project.
Leker and Brian Arett, who works with the foundation, told The Forum in an interview that they are shooting for the spring of 2022 for the start to construction with work on the construction documents to start within the next five months.
The fundraising effort to find founding partners will be ongoing as they would like to reach 80{066dbc63777e5ed549f406789d72fdeebd77a32711d57f7b38ff2b35c4ba2a42} of the private goal before starting more in-depth plans. So far, only about one-third of the goal has been met.
A conceptual draft for the hockey portion of a proposed south Fargo sports complex. Special to The Forum
The project would be a major boost to indoor facilities in the city as the plans calls for four to six basketball/volleyball courts, an ice hockey/skating rink, an indoor soccer field with turf, a quarter-mile walking track, a Sanford Power Center and new office headquarters for the park district.
It would be similar to facilities that Sanford has helped construct in the northwest part of Sioux Falls, S.D., where they’ve built the Sanford Pentagon basketball and volleyball center, a football training facility, numerous outdoor youth fields and an indoor golf practice facility.
The difference in this facility compared to Sioux Falls is that it would all be under one roof, which could save on numerous expenses, Arett said.