North Street sportsplex gets $1M boostCROWN POINT |
The North Street sports complex has received a $1 million donation to help cover the cost of planned improvements, Mayor David Uran said.
The money, from an anonymous donor, will allow officials to complete the first three phases of a project to build new playing fields, concession stands, restrooms and the like and to improve parking, roads and accessibility at the park, at 1300 E. North St.
The final phase, if it happens, would be the addition of a domed, year-round playing facility, Uran said.
"We want the first three phases built before we think about adding the domed facility," Uran said.
Officials last year authorized a $1.5 million bond sale to help cover the cost of improvements, which include a $675,000 playing field with all purpose turf.
The total cost of improving the sports complex is estimated at $6.3 million, according to information provided to city officials in September. That includes $1.4 million to improve drainage, with funding from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant.
Some of the improvements are expected to be paid with proceeds from the pending sale of the Breyfogle property. A developer has agreed to pay $1.58 for the 51 acres in a deal not yet finalized. Former Mayor Dan Klein had intended the Brefyfogle site for a sports complex.
Uran in late 2009 unveiled plans for a $16 million Bo Jackson indoor sports dome at the North Street complex, in which Jackson's
Bo Jackson Elite sports was to cover $3 million of the cost and the rest to come from private funds.
The Bo Jackson facility plans remain pending, Uran said recently. The dome, if it is built, would be paid from user fees and would
not involve taxpayer money, he said.
City officials late last year approved a $15,000 contract with a Florida consulting firm to study the economic impact of a Bo Jackson facility at the park.
That study has not yet gotten under way, Uran said. A Tuesday teleconference with the consultants is planned.