Rochester approves $65M sports complex site amid funding, amenity concerns

More than a year after Rochester residents voted for it, a massive recreation center is set to go up near southern Rochester’s business district. But questions remain over just what the city’s $65 million regional sports complex will contain.

The Rochester City Council on Monday night signed off on a $5 million deal to buy 160 acres along 45th Street SE., just blocks from hotels, a movie theater and numerous shops and restaurants. But city staff say it might cost up to twice as much as initially proposed to include everything the community wants.

Rochester officials want to build the complex in two phases, spending the bulk of the $65 million it will receive through a local sales tax passed in 2023 on mostly outdoor amenities, including eight full-sized baseball fields that could be converted into smaller softball fields for regional tournaments.

“We would have the ability to really customize the size and experience for whatever we were going to host,” said Ben Boldt, Rochester’s head of recreation and sports.

Boldt said the design is more cost effective as the city lines up other funding to pay for the remaining indoor features. It could cost $500,000 to $1 million annually to operate the indoor center, whereas an initial outdoor complex could draw regional tournaments to offset operating costs.

Residents could use the outdoor courts every day, though the facility would likely close for a couple months out of the year until more indoor space is built. The second phase would include indoor basketball/volleyball courts, a fitness center and walking tracks, among other amenities.

City Administrator Alison Zelms said Rochester wouldn’t be able to take full advantage of the sports complex if the city tried incorporating both indoor and outdoor features at once. She pointed out the project’s original vision called for a largely outdoor complex before the city got community feedback asking for more amenities.

“You do not get the full vision that the community put forward,” Zelms said.

Mayor Kim Norton and several council members decried the approach, arguing residents who voted for the sports complex in 2023 did so thinking indoor activities would be available right away. If the city doesn’t raise money on its own to complete the project, it could be more than a decade before Rochester could seek another round of local sales tax funding from the Minnesota Legislature to pay the rest of the project off.

“I’m wondering if you have thought through whether there will be any interest in the Legislature with funding one more cent for this if we only do outdoor first,” Norton said. “I’m hearing a concern from some [lawmakers].”

Several residents urged Rochester officials to prioritize indoor activities, arguing kids haven’t had a place to go since the YMCA closed at the start of 2022.

“We need safe and equitable spaces after school,” Sara Gerde said. “The sports complex can help meet those needs.”

The proposed 125,000-square-foot complex is expected to take up about 90 acres, though the city has yet to finalize its design with architects and a third-party operator. City officials initially had about 15 sites across Rochester in mind, but narrowed them to three including the southeast Rochester property.

The former IBM site in northwest Rochester, as well as property in in Kalmar Township — off Valleyhigh Drive and the 60th Avenue roundabout — also was considered. But those sites cost too much, according to city officials.

The city plans walking and biking trails, as well as about 800 initial parking spaces, to create more access to the complex just a few blocks off Hwy. 63. It will also have to redevelop the land to add infrastructure, which combined with the design costs will cost about $25 million.

The price tag didn’t sit well with several council members.

“I’m just shocked at how little $65 million can buy in our day,” Council Member Norman Wahl said.