PLANS UNVEILED FOR NEW SOCCER FIELDS
Developer
Estes donates land for 24-field complex
By Peter Centineo
The Weekly News
Published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008
4:39 PM CDT
Plans for a 24-field soccer complex in
Rapid City will get a kick start in the
coming weeks when an 80-acre tract of
land will be donated to the city.
Soccer Rapid City oversees the Rapid
City Soccer/Sport Complex board, which
will make the complex a reality in the
coming years. In 2005 the Rapid City
Council made $3.8 million in matching
funds available for the complex through
the 2012 fund, but land could not be
found to build upon. However, local tax
lawyer and entrepreneur Doyle Estes
plans to donate the land to the city
shortly.
According to Brian Pitts, executive
director of the Rapid City Soccer/ Sport
Complex, as soon as the land is
officially donated they will make a
major fundraising push.
“We’ll be working to get grants and
partner with local businesses to raise
money,” said Pitts. “We have a lot of
ways to fund it so we’ll explore all the
opportunities we have available. We’ll
also accept in-kind donations.”
Estes, 58, owns 625 acres of a one
square mile section of land located
1-mile north of the Flying J truck stop
just off Elk Vale Road along I-90. The
land is framed by Elk Vale Road to the
East, Country Road to the North, and
Dyess Road to the West. The 80 acres of
land for the soccer complex is located
in this section of land closest to Elk
Vale.
Originally there was a section of land
located off State Highway 44 west of the
St. Patrick Street intersection that was
being considered, but it was more suited
for business than a soccer complex.
Estes said the land he is donating is
perfect for soccer fields.
“It can’t be used for much anything
else. When I heard they were looking for
land I thought why not give it to them.
Rapid City has been really good to me
over the years so why not give back,” he
said. “It will be an economic boon for
the city. It’s easy access right off
I-90 and you already have a number of
hotels out there and more coming.”
Estes said the agreement to donate the
land will be contingent on it being used
for a soccer complex only and cannot be
used for anything else. Although the
final agreement has not been drawn up
with the city, he said if a soccer
complex is not built within a certain
time frame the land would go back to
him.
“I don’t think they should have a
problem having the fields in place and
ready to play on within three to five
years,” said Estes. “I talked to Brian
(Pitts) and he said it takes about two
years to grow the grass for the fields
so it’s going to take a while. But three
to five years should be more than enough
time to have the fields in place.”
Rapid City Alderman Bill Okrepkie said
he’s extremely excited to see things
finally coming together.
“I can’t stress enough what a wonderful
project this is. This is something I’m
very passionate about and a lot of other
people are, too,” Okrepkie said. “At
first I was opposed to it but after
looking at it I was very excited.”
Okrepkie said a great deal of money is
spent on parks that get a lot of use,
and this project will be a huge benefit
to the people of Rapid City.
“There are thousands of people playing
soccer in town and we have a lot of
tournaments,” Okrepkie said. “Soccer is
important to the kids and others who
play. Having a soccer complex like this
will also bring a lot of money into town
so it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Pitts said putting the 24 fields in
place will be the first priority and
ultimately they want a stadium
constructed as well. He said all totaled
the complex will cost about $12 million
to complete.
Having such a complex will allow Rapid
City to host major tournaments and the
chance to bid on the Region II youth
soccer tournament. Region II consists of
14 states, and 14 teams from each state
compete. When considering the number of
people such a tournament will draw, the
economic impact would be major.
“Rapid City is a major tourist
destination. People will have something
to do here every day and it’s not just
soccer,” said Pitts. “Rapid City is very
appealing because of all the things you
can do here and having a soccer complex
is going to be a great draw.”
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