Ponderay eyes Field of Dreams complex

PONDERAY — The city is looking into acquiring the Field of Dreams sports complex.

The City Council is approaching the Panhandle Area Council to see if it can assist with financing the purchase of the 50-acre site off U.S. Highway 95.

“Panhandle Area Council is doing some research for the city to find out how much it would cost. When we get that information from the Panhandle Area Council, then we’ll be able to figure out if we can afford it,” said city Planner Erik Brubaker.

The potential purchase price has been discussed by the City Council in executive session, but has not been publicly disclosed.

“I can’t say what it is yet, but we will be able to tell the world what it is if it actually happens. But right now it’s pins-and-needles to see if it can happen,” Brubaker said.

The North Idaho-Ponderay Youth Sports Association has been working to acquire the property from landowner Floyd McGhee, but the group is currently unable to carry the financial burden.

The association has been working for 17 years to make the Field of Dreams a reality and countless volunteers have stepped forward to donate their time, money and labor toward the effort. Parsons, the lead contractor of the Sand Creek Byway, has been hauling in fill material to help raise the site, which tends to get waterlogged.

“Parsons has done a lot for us,” said association President Mike Read.

The association’s inspiration for the site was to provide an affordable venue for youth soccer and baseball events, a goal which the group still hopes to achieve.

 Read said the association hopes to strike an agreement with the city, if it acquires the property from McGhee, that would enable the group to operate sporting events.

“I think we’re both better off that way,” Read said.

If the city is able to acquire the property, which is big enough for eight soccer fields and as many baseball/softball diamonds, Brubaker said sewer and water services would have to be extended to the site in order for the site to reach its full potential.

“A lot of people have worked hard on it over the years and hopefully we can retain that momentum,” said Brubaker.