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Consultants recommend a change in plans for Bettendorf sports complex

Plans for an indoor sports complex in Bettendorf may have hit a road bump tonight as a feasibility study was released. Consultants say the current plan isn̵...

Plans for an indoor sports complex in Bettendorf may have hit a road bump tonight as a feasibility study was released. Consultants say the current plan isn't ideal.

Plans for the sports complex near I-80 and Middle Road may be changing, after market researched showed the idea may not work. The Bettendorf city council heard the recommendations from that feasibility study.  They include scaling the project back to a 136,000 square foot facility. It includes six basketball and volleyball courts, 40,000 square feet of turf and other space for parties and a climbing wall.

"It took out the water component. It took out the ice component. From an operational perspective there's a huge overhead cost there and just to operate that sort of perspective we didn't think it was necessarily the best approach," said Jeff Reiter, Economic Development Director for Bettendorf.

The new plan cuts the price in half, from nearly $40 million down to $19 million. The consultants also recommended a new location.

"The challenge with I-80/middle road is right now its cornfields and it's a lot of money to get the utilities out there," said developer, Todd Raufeisen.

However, no one's ready to give up on the plan, saying there's a need in the Quad Cities.

"A sports complex is a sound concept. It's a good idea. It does drive people from outside the area to our community. This could have a great potential impact on the quad cities as a region as a whole," said Reiter.

From here the city will get together and discuss how to move forward with the project, which they expect will be sometime in the fall when they talk about their goals for 2016.

 

 

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