Hurdles remain for Kidsports easement, Victory Commons
<p>This recent aerial view shows the Kidsports Complex in north Kalispell along U.S. 93. Efforts are under way to acquire a permanent easement for the youth athletic complex.</p>
What if anything will take shape on 28 acres of school trust land available for development at the Victory Commons site in north Kalispell remains to be seen.
The city of Kalispell, Kidsports and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in September picked a pair of big-league developers for the Victory Commons proposal.
But loose ends must be tied up before Goldberg Properties and The Kroenke Group can develop the site, which sits at the corner of U.S. 93 and Reserve Loop.
Those loose ends also must be tied up before Kidsports can start raising the estimated $2.4 million it will need to buy a permanent easement from the state for its sport fields.
The goal is to negotiate a commercial land lease with Goldberg and Kroenke and put both that and proposed terms for a Kidsports permanent easement before the State Land Board for approval in January, said Steve Frye, area manager for the Northwest Land Office.
That goal line has remained a moving target through several years. Most recently it has been pushed from August to September, then October and now January.
“I learned some time ago we’re not running a dash. It’s more of a marathon,” said Dan Johns, Kidsports’ president. “I’m optimistic, but there remain hurdles in front of us.”
Johns said Kidsports has reached a tentative agreement with Goldberg and Kroenke in regard to a one-time payment they would make to the nonprofit youth sports organization.
That payment would give the developers the right to use a dozen-plus acres of land Kidsports has agreed to release from its 40-year lease for the Victory Commons initiative.
That’s designed to give Kidsports a jump on raising the significant amount of money it will need to buy a permanent easement. The easement would let Kidsports stay where it is and avoid a mandatory mid-lease reappraisal in 2016 that threatens to make its annual lease payment unaffordable.
Terms for the easement likely would give Kidsports several years to raise the money it needs.
“Then we go out and secure those funds, hopefully,” Johns said. He declined to specify the agreement Kidsports reached with the developers.
“Everything we have is conditional or tentative and depends on them negotiating a lease with the state,” Johns said. “It’s a very nice contribution toward [the easement’s cost], but certainly doesn’t close the door by any means.”
VICTORY COMMONS sits in one of Kalispell’s busiest commercial areas and next to Kidsports fields that draw thousands of people every spring, summer and fall for youth baseball, softball, football, soccer and running events.
The two developers have concepts for the 28-acre site, but said their project remains in early stages and depends first on the negotiation of a commercial land lease.
“We envision hopefully some additional retail, but also hospitality and things that fit in with Kidsports,” said Mark Goldberg, president of Goldberg Properties.
The Denver-based firm continues to develop its adjacent Spring Prairie shopping center. That three-phase, 45-acre retail site sits on school trust land just north of Kidsports and the Victory Commons site and includes major businesses such as Costco, Lowe’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, Famous Dave’s and a soon-to-be-built Cabela’s.
The Kroenke Group is based in Columbia, Mo., and was founded by billionaire Stan Kroenke, the 120th richest man in the United States, according to Forbes.
The firm did not respond to a request for comment on its ideas for Victory Commons.
Kroenke Sports Enterprises has an extensive background in professional sports. It is part-owner of the St. Louis Rams football team, Denver Nuggets basketball team and Colorado Avalanche hockey team.
It owns the Pepsi Center in Denver where the Nuggets and Avalanche play and partnered with former Denver Bronco quarterback John Elway to launch the Colorado Crush, a team in the Arena Football League, according to information about the firm available online.
The firm’s considerable background in sports makes it a great partner for a project such as Victory Commons, Goldberg said.
“We have some concepts put together, but we have work to do with DNRC to consummate our deal,” Goldberg said. “This is an important piece of real estate in the community.”
=Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.