Community takes the field

Minot groups rally to support community bowl measure

By JILL SCHRAMM, Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Representatives of several Minot community organizations gathered at a news conference Thursday to show their support for a ballot measure that would fund a community bowl.


“The community bowl is a piece that we need in our tool chest as we try to recruit people to come back to Minot,” said John MacMartin, president of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce.


“The community bowl will be a factor in the success of Minot for many years to come,” added Wendy Howe, director of the Minot Convention and Visitors Bureau.


The chamber and CVB are among those supporting the measure that will be on the June 10 ballot. The measure proposes to redirect half of the 1 percent sales tax going to the Northwest Area Water Supply project to construction of a community bowl on the campus of Minot State University. The diversion would begin July 1, 2008, and end June 30, 2011. It would raise about $9 million for the bowl.


Minot State University Board of Regents, the Minot Board of Realtors and Minot Catholic Schools recently passed unanimous resolutions of support for the  project. Other supporters are Minot Public Schools, Minot Soccer Association, Sertoma Club of Minot, Magic City Youth Baseball, Minot Area Girls Fast Pitch Softball, Minot Soccer Association and Minot Junior Golf Association.


Rod Romine, chairman of the Community Bowl Committee, said he frequently comes away with resolutions of support when he speaks to groups to educate them on the measure.


“Support is very broad, and we know that we are going to have to get the people to the polls,” he said.


The project includes a stadium seating 6,000 people, a track and an artificial turf field. The three-level building will include indoor locker rooms on the first level; concessions, restrooms, a gift shop and eight suites on the second level; and a press box on the third level.


 A bubble dome erected for winter would have portable seating for a few hundred people. The dome would allow for a walking/jogging path, softball, soccer, golf practice, baseball practice and other events during the winter months.


 “The usage of that bubble in the winter time is immeasurable,” Romine said. “There are so many options there for the winter time.”


MacMartin said the chamber receives many calls from prospective residents and businesses who want to know about the community’s amenities. Minot has much to offer, but it needs to develop winter recreational opportunities that compare favorably to places in warmer climates, he said.


“The community bowl will accomplish that and give us another piece of the puzzle that we need to recruit not only businesses but people back to the Minot area,” he said.


The Community Bowl Committee estimates the construction cost at $11 million, of which about $9 million would come from the sales tax redirection. Romine said any additional money needed but not covered by the three years of sales-tax receipts will be raised privately.


 NAWS officials have said the loss of a half cent of tax for three years wouldn’t slow the project. The city’s NAWS account currently has $25.5 million in unspent funds.


Romine said sales tax collections have been increasing at a rate that would enable NAWS to recover $9 million above current annual income in about 1¢ years.


Howe said the measure offers the most painless way for taxpayers to pay for a community bowl.


“The option ensures that we don’t place unnecessary burdens on our citizens and that we avoid heavy financing costs as well,” she said. “This option means we can fund two important projects that will make a big difference in Minot’s future.”