Dream of Dome Deflates in St. Michael…for now

Late last summer, the head of the Minnesota Kings Football Club approached the St. Michael-Albertville United soccer program with a much-needed update on the city's proposed soccer dome.

Tim Haselberger, director of the Kings FC, told STMA United that their partnership was on solid ground, and that the dream to build a soccer dome on the Lower Rec Fields at Rec Park in St. Michael was very close to becoming a reality.

But in about six months, the dream of a dome has all but deflated.

First, a look back. The club's message of hope continued to bounce back and forth between the soccer club, Haselberger and the through the fall. But, the city, including City Engineer Steve Bot, looked at the situation with a bit of skepticism, since they hadn’t seen reworked engineering plans requested by the city’s planning commission and confirmed by the city council, something required of Haselberger before the project moved forward.

In the meantime, a dome was delivered. Haselberger had procured an old golf dome, thanks to funds raised through the Kings program and about $10,000 raised by St. Michael-Albertville United Coaching Director Roger Derham over the last two years.

Finally, in October, things started to move. Plans were submitted and utilities were mapped out. Concrete pads for the blower equipment and front doors were laid down on the fields.

But in December, with temperatures still warm enough–unseasonably so–to continue with construction, the action stopped. This came just weeks after communication from Haselberger to the board that the builder was ready to go.

Questions from the soccer community continued to persist. Derham, who schedules winter training programs for the soccer program, was forced to go back to the drawing board for the 2011-2012 indoor season, and use school gymnasium space, as the club has since its inception more than a decade ago.

“We can go back to doing what we’ve always done,” Derham told the board and members at the annual meeting last fall. “We can make it work. It’s not what we had hoped for, but we’ll make it work.”

Now, it seems the dream of a dome is all but deflated. The soccer board severed its ties with the football club, for financial reasons. Kids will not get passes to Kings FC games, as they did last year.

Then, STMA United sent out a letter via email to its members and coaches late Wednesday afternoon addressing the dome issue.

It doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the facility’s immediate future. Haselberger has told the club he’s out of money for the project, which required him to pay for concrete, utilities and a dome itself, and to also pave the road to and parking areas at the lower rec, according to an agreement with the city.

As it stands, STMA United is now one creditor waiting for payment.

The letter, submitted to the soccer community from its board of directors, reads:

“As most of you are aware…. STMA United has been working with the Minnesota Kings Football Club to bring an indoor soccer facility to our community. While STMA United is not an owner of the dome and is not responsible for the construction or site planning of the dome, STMA United did make a contribution to the project. The purpose of the contribution was two-fold. First, it was to secure priority in scheduling and discounted rental rates for our members. Second, it was to capitalize on the opportunity for STMA United to receive the benefits of owning a dome without the expenses and liabilities, such as the cost of the dome, land acquisition fees, construction expenses, liability and hazard insurance, staffing, taxes and on-going maintenance.

“The STMA United Board has watched the progress of the dome project very closely. We were in periodic contact with the Kings’ President and routinely obtained construction updates from both the Kings and the City of St. Michael. Despite a contractual agreement and repeated promises from the Kings that final dome construction was imminent, the Kings were not able to complete the dome project in the time frame that was originally planned.

“The STMA Board has been very patient with the Kings because of our strong desire to bring the dome to this community and our members. Clearly, if the dome were completed as originally planned, it would have been a major benefit to our members this past winter. However, at this time, the dome will not be completed by this spring.

“So, the STMA United Board recently served notice to the Kings that if construction of the dome was not completed by the end of February, STMA United would have no choice but to begin the process of recovering the funds contributed to the Kings for the construction of the dome. In response to this communication, the STMA United Board has recently received an update from the Kings that their intent is to postpone construction, and resume in the fall of 2012. Currently, the STMA United board is expecting a partial refund and an updated construction plan from the Kings.

“While this delay is an unfortunate turn of events, the STMA Board will continue to work in the best interests of our members by attempting to find a solution to the situation. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact a STMA Board member via our information on the STMA United website.”

In fairness, STMA United has never been healthier. Participation numbers are steady, despite growing competition (lacrosse and archery have arrived to draw away youth). The summer program has more participants per capita than many area programs of similar size. And the varsity squads, the beneficiary of the youth programs, both captured conference championships last season.

The STMA United Club Board meets tonight at 7 p.m. at the Country Inn in Albertville. Members of the club are welcome to attend the meeting.