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Sports complex fund drive is halfway home |
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Wednesday, 05 December 2007 |
After just five months, the Forest Lake Area Athletic Association (FLAAA) has raised half of the money needed to make its proposed Sports Complex a reality. FLAAA has raised $600,000 of the $1.2 million needed to bridge the gap between bank financing and total capital costs.
The final $600,000 needs to be raised in the next four months so FLAAA can begin construction in March.
“We’re excited to be at the halfway point, especially since we have such a short fund-raising timeline,” said Laurie Kumerow, a member of the Sports Complex Steering Committee.
“Most capital campaigns take about 18 months to raise $1 million. We just don’t have that kind of time because the Maroon and Gold Arena is on its last legs.
“The community needs a new skating facility by next fall. So we really hope more local residents will step up and make contributions.”
The majority of funding to date has come from foundation grants, selling advertising rights within the Sports Complex, and donations from sport associations under the FLAAA umbrella.
Donors who contribute $50 or more will have their name engraved on pucks and plaques on a Wall of Honor in the facility lobby.
“Our engraved pucks, which sell for $50 a piece, make great gifts,” Kumerow said. “We send donors back a certificate that they can ‘give’ as a gift until the Wall of Honor gets built.”
Donation forms and more information are available on the FLAAA Web site at HYPERLINK “http://www.flaaa.org” www.flaaa.org.
Businesses interested in advertising in the Sports Complex should call Tal Gravelle at 651-464-8097.
The proposed Sports Complex will include one year-round ice sheet and a field house with ice five months and artificial turf for field sports the rest of the year.
FLAAA will fund, build and manage the facility on land leased from the city of Forest Lake. The six-acre parcel in the Headwaters development is next to the airport and outdoor fields the city is currently constructing off Fenway Avenue.
School update
Members of the FLAAA updated the ISD 831 School Board on the progress of the complex during a special work session last Thursday night.
FLAAA member Larry Porter said the sports center project could be a key piece in the eventual building of a community center in the Headwaters development.
Porter said the FLAAA has contributed $150,000 in the past to the community center and was now working with the Forest Lake Hockey Association to bring this project to completion. “It’s the whole project that we’ve been working on,” Porter said.
The group told the school board that high school hockey teams will have dedicated dressing facilities in the new complex. Hockey booster clubs will be doing fund-raisers for the lockeroom build outs.
Lynn Steenblock, superintendent of schools, thanked the volunteers for being strong partners with the district. He said it has been the district’s intent to no longer own an ice arena but provide the facility through rental agreements.
He pledged the district’s support to aid the effort by donating current Maroon and Gold equipment to FLAAA when the arena closes.
Such equipment as dasher boards and spare glass, scoreboards and controls, the old Zamboni, edgers, floor cleaners, netting, clocks, a public address system, concession equipment, air moving fans and possibly the compressor/cooling tower/pumps and motors will be donated to the new facility.
Plans also call for the new Zamboni, which is being purchased with annual grants from the Hallberg Family Foundation, to be moved to the new arena, as well.
If ground is broken in March, the goal is to have the facility open next fall.
The FLAAA will finance the $5 million facility with revenue bonds issued by the city of Forest Lake, acting as a conduit for the financing. The city-endorsed bond program means a drop in the bond interest rate from 8 percent to around 5 percent.
The facility is expected to generate ample revenues to pay debt and operation costs.
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