Sports complex more than half complete

WASILLA -- Work on the Wasilla sports center is proceeding according to plan and budget, according to Bruce Urban, the new director of the project, who estimates the construction process to be roughly 60 percent completed. The project is scheduled to be finished in late February, with the Iditarod Restart on March 7 to be the first major event the complex handles. The Restart has been moved from its customary Idita-Park (Wonderland) location to the sports complex.

Urban has replaced Don Moore as the head manager of the ongoing construction. He has worked for the Mat-Su Borough since 1983 in the Recreational and Library Services Division, and has helped plan, coordinate and maintain the Brett Memorial Ice Arena, the Borough Gym, the Palmer and Wasilla pools, assorted other Parks and Outdoor Recreation facilities and five community libraries.

Among the amenities planned for the 102,000-square-foot structure will be a National Hockey League regulation-sized indoor ice rink, bleachers with seating for more than 1,500 people in the rink area, an indoor 835-foot rubber walking and jogging track, 2,000 square feet of conference and for-lease rooms, locker rooms, a pro shop, a concession stand, and a Zamboni. Construction also continues on an artificial turf field of approximately 17,000 square feet. The turf is a new, state-of-the-art inorganic covering, used by Anchorage Football Stadium among other professional sports arenas.

In a tour of the growing facility Monday, Urban pointed out the many new features of the building and described many additional features he would like to pursue if time and budget allow, including multiple outdoor football and baseball fields. Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller said a basketball court/gymnasium was originally considered, but the idea was finally turned down.

"Every major school in the Valley has a basketball court," the mayor said Tuesday. "However, the turf field and ice rink fill unique 'niches' in our community."

Urban also said, however, that overextravagance in planning additions to the complex might not be wise. "We're on budget right now and we would like to stay that way."

The infrastructure of the building has already been completed, and the work crew is currently finishing the paint job and placing subsurface tubes in the ice rink to keep the ice frozen. The rink will also feature plates that can be laid across its surface, providing a dry, stable area for large events, concerts, conventions and shows.

Urban said many individuals and groups in the Valley are already enthusiastic about planning events at the sports complex. He mentioned the possibility of the Colony High School graduating class of 2004 holding its commencement ceremony on the rink. Keller also said that, after the news of the complex began to spread, several organizations in Anchorage contacted her about the possibility of using the new structure for their own events and competitions. The mayor is particularly excited by this opportunity, since the Wasilla sports center is planned to be primarily unsubsidized, that is, supported by its own generated income.

"We want to try and get the complex to pay for itself as much as possible," Keller said. Urban mentioned that individuals and groups may rent the ice rink for $185 an hour during peak hours and $160 an hour during off hours (early morning and late night). The cost for renting the turf arena has yet to be determined.

An ongoing issue in the construction process is the sports complex's intent to be used as the Wasilla area's primary emergency evacuation center. Keller remarked that the complex requires a secondary use to justify the amount of taxpayer money being devoted to the project. Keller also mentioned that the majority of evacuation centers operating in the Valley currently are schools, while others are senior centers.

"We need an evacuation center that won't displace groups with special needs," the mayor said, mentioning that the most important component of recovery following a disaster is a return to the normal affairs of life, and that this cannot occur if the lives of those inhabiting the evacuation center are themselves disrupted.

Among the improvements hoped for in order to provide emergency support to Valley residents are natural gas generators to allow the facility to maintain light and heat in the event of an emergency, and a kitchen to provide nutrition for displaced citizens. Although these emergency facilities were not in the original budget, Keller and Urban intend to apply for federal grants in order to cover the costs rather than ask the public.

"We don't want to go back to the taxpayers on this," Urban said. "We feel that they've given enough and more than enough."

Urban said the building is scheduled to open with festivities including visiting dignitaries and open skating on March 6, the day before the Iditarod Restart. "We're really excited about showing it to the public when it's finally completed," he said. "They're going to be really pleased with what they have here."

Additional information, as well as construction photographs of the complex and artists' conceptions of the completed building, are available at http://www.kumin.alaska.com/projects/20221/sportscomplex.htm.