15 October 2023
DULUTH City leaders long have aspired to bring a new state-of-the-art indoor athletics venue to their community, but now Duluth finally has the resources to make something happen, thanks to the extension of a half-percent tax on sales at local food, drink and lodging establishments.
That tax could remain in place for up to 30 years, or perhaps less if collections prove sufficient to fund the $36 million Duluth proposes to invest in public athletic facilities over the coming decade. Those tax proceeds will yield a long to-do list expected to include much more than the long-anticipated indoor sports venue.
An ordinance headed to the City Council on Monday night will formally authorize city officials to accept the tax dedicated for “capital improvements to parks-based public athletic facilities.”
Mayor Emily Larson recently unearthed the State of the City Address she had hoped to deliver in 2020, and the indoor sports center figured prominently in her plans before they were interrupted by the pandemic, which also forced her to cancel the speech.
The exact details of how Duluth will spend the $36 million remain to be determined, but the council has already passed a nonbinding resolution of intent, indicating its support for a broad four-phase plan presented by city administration in September. Individual projects will each require council approval before they can move forward, said Jim Filby Williams, director of parks, libraries and properties for the city of Duluth.
Projects also must meet another test: that they draw outside visitors to the city, enhancing local tourism revenues.
Filby Williams said existing sports tourism is concentrated at Wade Stadium; the Wheeler Athletic Complex; the Lake Park Athletic Complex off Jean Duluth Road; the Fryberger Arena; and the Arlington Sports Complex.
He said other local sports venues also have the potential to bring more people to town if improved. These attractions could include Enger Park Golf Course, the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center and the Gary-New Duluth Skatepark.
Still more venues that could drive more modest visitation from beyond the city have been identified, as well: Duluth’s six multi-sport hockey/community center complexes, Irving Park, the Longview tennis courts; and perhaps a phase of investment at Enger Park.
Filby Williams said staff will strive to see equitable investment of athletic facility funds across the city.
Phase I of the city’s preliminary plan, slated to begin in 2023, includes:
An additional $1.7 million investment in a new irrigation system for Enger Park Golf Course $1.2 million for additional lighting and snowmaking capacity at the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center $1.2 million to shore up Wade Stadium with new windows, walls and roofing $300,000 to complete the Gary-New Duluth Skatepark $400,000 for predesign of projects to be tackled in phases II and III
Phase II “is focused on our primary outdoor sports venues,” Filby Williams said. It calls for $14.2 million in spending between 2025 and 2027. Proposed projects include:
$4 million for the Lake Park Athletic Complex $4 million for Wade Stadium and the Wheeler Athletic Complex $2.2 million for the Arlington Sports Complex $2 million for the Portman multi-sport hockey/community center complex in Lakeside $2 million for the Duluth Heights multi-sport hockey/community center complex
Filby Williams said Phase III will “focus on one or two renovated or new indoor sports venues.” This would involve the possible renovation or replacement of Fryberger Arena.
In addition, he said: “There has long been a strong desire in our community to also have indoor sports facilities for basketball, pickleball, soccer and lacrosse.”
Mayor Larson will appoint a task force to guide in the development of plans for new indoor sports venues. She already has named former City Councilor Todd Fedora to lead that task force and is expected to complete the assembly of that body this month.
“As has been the case with virtually all historic efforts to finance public indoor athletic arenas in Duluth, the expense of this project is greater than the private sector or the city or the state alone can pay. So, it will be necessary now, as it was with the original Fryberger Arena, to supplement the city’s investment with private fundraising and state bond funding,” Filby Williams said.
Duluth proposes to channel $8 million from the half-percent tax into indoor athletic facilities and will seek to garner additional local financial support. Filby Williams said the city could then ask the state to match that total local investment, perhaps as soon as the 2026 legislative session.
Phase IV would likely involve the expenditure of a final $9 million between 2030 and 2033 at many of the other more modest athletic venue attractions Filby Williams mentioned in his Sept. 11 City Council presentation. He said these projects will be selected with the help of further public engagement.
]]>