(Nebraska City) — After a two-week delay, Nebraska City’s commissioners have given their blessing to the city’s ambitious sports complex project.
By unanimous vote Monday evening, the city council approved the complex’s master and proposed phases. Approval of the proposed contract with JEO Consulting for engineering the complex’s first phase was originally scheduled for the council’s first meeting January 3rd. But, the commissioners tabled action after Nebraska City Mayor Bryan Bequette discovered they had yet to okay the project’s actual concept. Plans call for building the complex on a 29-acre site at 1419 North 19th Street. Speaking on KMA’s “Morning Line” program Tuesday morning, Bequette says the project includes some much-needed soccer fields, among other things.
“It will have four soccer fields–one full-sized high school level, youth 18 and over,” said Bequette, “then three smaller fields on the east side. This will be just west of the Ambassador in Nebraska City. If you’re familiar with that, on the way out to the transfer station, it’ll be on the west side of that dirt road, which is 19th Street.”
Presently, Bequette says the city uses land from a “benevolent owner” for youth soccer activities.
“This would give us city soccer fields for the first time,” he said, “and somewhere for our soccer teams to actually play in a complex, rather than on just a couple of fields out there, then spread out around the schools. But, that’s the big things, first, is to get soccer fields for the city.”
Other amenities include four baseball and softball fields, concession stands, maintenance and storage buildings, restrooms and parking.
“It’s good fields,” said Bequette. “It’ll be grass and be irrigated. It’ll give us a few stands–not a lot. And, it also gives us somewhere to have flag football and half-rack football, which seems to be picking up speed here in Nebraska City. So, we’ll be able to do things like that.”
Officials with the Nebraska City GREAT Foundation–which stands for Growing Regional Economic Activity Today–plan fundraising efforts in order to cover the project’s cost. You can hear the full interview with Bryan Bequette here:
Nebraska City Mayor Bryan Bequette recaps Monday night’s Nebraska City City Council meting, including action on the city’s proposed complex.