Change in plans for Rochester sports complex has some voters feeling ‘hoodwinked’

ROCHESTER – In the lead-up to a 2023 vote on a proposed $205 million sales tax extension, residents were asked to weigh in on what had become the strongest selling point for the ballot initiative: a new regional sports complex.

Details started out fuzzy, so city officials and consultants held more than 15 events with various community groups to come up with what the complex could look like. They heard about demand for indoor gym space, play areas for kids and opportunities to bring youth sports tournaments to town.

The findings culminated in a 148-page recommendation to the city, complete with renderings showing outdoor fields and a 125,000-square-foot gym with courts that could be adapted for multiple sports.

Voters were sold. By a nearly seven-point margin, residents approved the half-cent sales tax measure, with $65 million earmarked for the sports complex — a sum that was expected to pay for all or most of the project.

But then came the curveball.

Fifteen months after winning voter support, city staff has now revised the cost of building out the entire vision for the complex to be in the ballpark of $120 million, nearly double what had been initially projected.

The updated projections have rankled voters and put the city on the defense over how they could have gotten it so wrong.

“We created some expectations with the community based on the ISG estimates going into the vote,” said Deputy Administrator Aaron Parrish, referring to the consulting firm that led the design. “However, what it’s going to take to accomplish the entire vision for the project is materially different than the estimates we were provided, and that’s really disappointing.”

Representatives from ISG did not respond to a request for comment.

The faulty cost projections have resulted in a scaled-down version of the project that does not include any of the indoor components presented to the public before the vote. Instead, the latest proposal out of City Hall centers on artificial baseball diamonds designed to draw tournaments to town.

City officials say the early focus on outdoor facilities will give taxpayers the best bang for the buck. But for many voters who backed the original plans, the shifting priorities have left them feeling disillusioned.

“I personally feel we’ve been kind of hoodwinked,” said Neil Cassidy, a local soccer coach who participated in community engagement efforts before the referendum. “It just seems like the main point is what will get tournaments here as opposed to what will get the most community use.”

Because much of what the community voted on is no longer in play, Cassidy argues the city should go back to voters before determining what to do next.

He’s not alone.

“I feel like people were thinking of this as some sort of recreational area, like 125 Live [senior center], but geared towards kids,” said Mahathi Kandimalla, after raising concerns about the lack of activities for kids in town at a recent city council meeting. “I don’t think anyone was thinking of it as something that will bring people into Rochester and then they’ll spend money at hotels and restaurants. That wasn’t the first thing coming to people’s minds.”

State Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, said the city’s best move would be to pause plans and let the community decide what the priorities should be for the complex. Hicks, a mother of six, called the city’s proposal to exclude indoor play area a “missed opportunity.”

“Before they asked the taxpayers to vote on it, they went to the community and asked what they wanted,” Hicks said in an interview. “They incorporated what the community wanted into the ask for tax revenue. And then when they didn’t have enough money, they went back to what they wanted and left out all of the community feedback. It just boggles my mind.”

Changing course now, however, may not be viable, said Parrish. Within the $65 million budget, it is unlikely an indoor center can be built as imagined. There would also be annual operating costs, estimated to be between $500,000 to $1 million, that would further strain the city’s budget.

Parrish said the better move is to build momentum with outdoor facilities — including eight diamond fields, two artificial turf rectangular fields, pickleball courts and a playground — while continuing to explore alternative funding options for a second phase that would include an indoor facility.

Rochester City Council Member Shaun Palmer agrees. He said while plans have evolved over time, the complex was originally intended to be an outdoor-based facility that could generate regional interest.

After cost estimates came back higher than expected, Palmer said it was in the city’s best interest to move forward with the plan that could yield the highest return to the city.

He also disputed the notion that the complex was meant to replace the Rochester YMCA, which closed in 2022 after 58 years in operation.

“It was never intended to be a community center; it was never intended to replace the Y,” Palmer said. “I mean, the Y failed for a reason.”

Rochester Mayor Kim Norton, however, is not so sure that’s the case.

Before the sales tax went up for a vote, she argued that each of the proposed projects — which also included $50 million for economic development, $50 million for street reconstruction and $40 million for flood control — should be put on the ballot separately.

Her concern, reflected in a veto that was later overturned by the city council, was that voters might be hesitant to support a complex that was still yet to be fully defined.

While she was wrong on that front, Norton said she shares the frustration among many in the community who believe the current plan does not prioritize the things the voters cared about most.

“I think it will be a beautiful baseball diamond that can draw people from all over the region, maybe all over the world,” Norton said. “That’s a different dream and vision than I believe that people thought they voted for.”

City staff said the latest iteration of the project was chosen after an analysis of other facilities across the region. While other sites, such as the National Sports Center in Blaine, offer many rectangular fields, the study found that Rochester could distinguish itself with baseball diamonds.

“If we’re able to put eight full-size baseball fields that can be modified down to younger kids or softball fields as well, that would be the only facility like that in Minnesota or really around the region,” said Ben Boldt, head of facilities for Rochester Parks and Recreation.

To build the complex, the city has reached a $5 million deal to purchase 160 acres of farmland near the Shoppes on Maine plaza. The site is large enough to not only handle the first phase of outdoor facilities, set to open in 2027, but also the potential for an indoor recreational center as well.

In the meantime, the city says it’s looking at possible state boding opportunities and local lodging taxes as potential sources of revenue for an indoor facility. Parrish said the city also plans to look at potential interim options to meet indoor needs, such as a sports bubble around the fields.

“We’re still encouraged that we’re going to be able to deliver a project that the community can be proud of and excited about,” Parrish said.