Plans Continue To Move Forward on New Sartell Sports Arena

SARTELL -- Plans are moving forward to build a second arena for youth sports in Sartell.

Back in January the Sartell Youth Rec Center brought plans before the council detailing a second enclosed arena, that would have ice during the winter months and turf the rest of the year.

During Monday's city council meeting, Sartell Youth Rec Center President Chad Ritter presented an update to the project and asked council for some additional financial support.

We do ask you for some additional financial support for this project, to the cost of $130,000 per year and this would run over 20 years.

Ritter says the total cost of the project is about $5.2-million and they have currently raised over $3-million through private donations.

Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum says while they support the project, they need to look at their current funding situation.

We will have to review that ask and get back to you. We have a few special meetings coming up where we are going to sit down with our staff and understand what best-case, worst-case for us out of COVID looks like.

Fitzthum says there has been a lot of community support for the project and the council hopes to make a decision on the request in the near future.

As part of their capital campaign, the organization received two lead gifts from Scheels and Regional Diagnostic Radiology. The funding provides naming rights for the new RDR arena and the entire sports complex which will be known as the Scheels Athletic Complex.

Ritter says they will begin the community gift phase of the fundraising in the next few months.

The goal is still to start construction this fall with hopes of opening the RDR Arena in late March.