Plans for soccer complex take step forward
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The Minot Soccer Association continues to work toward establishing a new soccer complex in southwest Minot, gaining the support of the Minot Planning Commission for its proposed site on Tuesday, July 14.
The planning commission is recommending city council approval of a rezoning of the property from multiple residence district to public district for the Minot Legends Soccer project. The property is on the north side of 20th Avenue Southwest, west of 28th Street.
The commission received letters from neighbors in the area concerned about traffic and the adequacy of the streets to handle that traffic without improvements.
Residents indicated existing traffic on Elk Drive frequently is heavy enough to back up traffic at the 20th Avenue intersection. There also is concern about maintenance on 20th Avenue and about vehicles backing up on 22nd Avenue at the light on 16th Street Southwest, which would need to be addressed with a dedicated left turn signal or longer green light to allow left-turning traffic through.
Neighbors adjacent to the proposed complex, sent a joint letter that included concerns about truck traffic still using 20th Avenue to use a back entrance to the landfill.
"With the additional soccer traffic, this will be a nightmare. We are also concerned about increased foot traffic, parking in front of our homes, noise and lights. First responders may be delayed in response times with additional traffic. We love our area and feel this is not a good location for a complex," they wrote.
Assistant City Engineer Emily Huettl said 20th Avenue had a pavement overlay a couple of years ago, although the portion closest to the proposed complex needs additional patching. Patching should hold up better with the significant reduction in use of the road by landfill traffic, which has been redirected with the new landfill entrance, she said. The city water treatment plant still sends three or four trucks a day to access the landfill's back entrance and occasionally, a contractor will coordinate to use the back gate if bringing waste material that landfill uses for daily cover, she added.
She also noted the intersection with 20th Avenue where Elk Drive becomes 22nd Avenue would not be a good candidate for an all-way stop, based on traffic counts.
Replacement of the signal at 22nd Avenue and 16th Street Southwest, which is a state project, was delayed until next year.
"Protected left turns will be a part of that project in 2027. So, I think that would address a lot of the traffic concerns there at 16th Street. As far as future plans, we see 20th Avenue kind of staying as is until sometime after the northwest/southwest bypass all plays out," she said.
How quickly development occurs farther south on 20th Street also could dictate when the city might fully reconstruct and urbanize 20th Avenue, Huettl said.
"But that's many, many , many years away," she said.
The proposed complex also is in the path of one of the route scenarios for the proposed northwest/southwest bypass.
Justin Ahmann, board president for the soccer association, said the association supports the bypass.
"It doesn't limit us from building this indoor facility. We'd be willing to negotiate selling some of this property that results in a roadway,” he said.
Regarding traffic, Ahmann estimated about 60 participants would use the complex at any given time for practices. One weekend a year, the association hosts a tournament at Minot State University. With the complex in place, some tournament games could be shifted there, he said. For that one weekend, traffic to and from the complex will be higher.
Ahmann said the association plans to have adequate parking to meet city requirements based on the size of the indoor facility on the property.
The association bought the property about three years ago with plans for an indoor/outdoor complex that could address its growing participation. The association offers a program for youth ages 4-14 with internal competition, a competitive team that travels around the region, an adult league and an academy for training other youth in the area, Ahmann said.
"We have over 2,000 players a year that participate in all of our various programs and we found that we're running out of space," he said.
Currently, the association uses the Optimist soccer facility on North Hill in the summer and a rented facility on the state fairgrounds in the winter.
"Our biggest need is a new indoor facility, one that we would own, be able to maintain ourselves, rent to other groups," Ahmann said. "Our current, preliminary plan would be to build a building that has four practice fields in it."
Ahmann said the earliest construction on the project might start is this fall, or more likely 2027.
The planning commission voted 9-0 to recommend the zone change approval.