Dec 13, 2024
Landon Merkel, center, with the Minot Soccer Association’s U14 team, Magic City Legends, goes for the ball in a match during the Candy Cane Classic in Williston this past weekend. Photo by Michael Linnell Photography.
The Minot Soccer Association has selected a site for a new soccer facility in Minot and already has a $100,000 pledged grant to kick off its capital campaign.
“We’ve been working on it for quite a while,” Soccer Association Executive Director Ellen Jebens said of plans for the indoor/outdoor complex. The association purchased 26 acres of land in southwest Minot, behind Somerset Court.
The association’s recreational and competitive teams use a building on the fairgrounds for indoor play and the Minot Park District’s Optimist Complex in north Minot for outdoor play.
“Soccer has just grown exponentially, and we are out of space,” Jebens said. “We have over 1,000 kids playing rec soccer, and so there’s not enough space and time, and there’s not enough parking. We’re bursting at the seams.”
The proposed complex will have one full-sized soccer field and several smaller fields. The indoor turf facility will have four futsal-sized fields, which are smaller than regular fields.
A preliminary floor plan for a proposed indoor soccer facility shows space for four futsal fields, which are smaller than a regular soccer field. The facility could provide one regular soccer field. The entrance includes a lobby, changing area, office and conference room.
“It will effectively double what we have now for space,” Jebens said. The fairgrounds facility offers just two futsal fields. Jebens noted a larger space will condense the hours needed to accommodate the association’s teams, which currently have practice times between 4-10 p.m. on weekdays.
The association’s capital campaign aims to raise $5 million -$7 million. The Aggie Foundation has awarded $100,000 over the next five years, which will be allocated toward installation of the turf and equipment used in the indoor building.
“This donation will make a lasting impact on our programs and enable us to reach more children than ever before. We want to ensure soccer has a stable home for years to come in the Minot area, and this contribution brings us one step closer to that goal,” said Justin Ahmann, vice president of the soccer association board, in a news release announcing the award.
Jebens said the new facility won’t eliminate the need to utilize the Optimist Complex. The association also hosts a large indoor tournament every year at Minot State University and expects to continue to use that venue. However, having its additional facility would allow for more teams and better times for games, getting away from 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. game start times, she said.
Minot Park District has been contemplating its own indoor turf facility. The Minot City Council approved a June 3 ballot measure for voters to decide whether to approve a half percent sales tax that would go toward the field house construction and other park expenses.
A map diagram shows the outlines of multiple sizes of soccer fields, including a large, standard-sized field and an indoor facility with four futsal-sized fields and parking on the south end of property owned by the Minot Soccer Association in southwest Minot.
That facility would not address the soccer association’s need for more outdoor soccer space, and Jebens said the association prefers to own its own indoor space, giving it control over scheduling and availability.
The park district has other potential users for a turf facility, including general community use.
Jebens said the soccer association’s facility also would be made available to the community during times when not needed by soccer teams. The proximity of Somerset Court also is being viewed as a positive for residents and staff at the senior living center.
“They are looking forward to having the soccer complex and a walking path for their community to get outside and enjoy,” Jebens said.
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