After approximately 1.5 years of planning, things are still slowly moving forward on a planned athletic complex off SR 202 and 14th Street in North Bend (near Encompass).
Four combination outdoor soccer/baseball/lacrosse/football fields and the parking lot are scheduled to be constructed in the first phase. During the second phase, three indoor, multi-purpose sports buildings would be constructed.
The Snoqualmie Valley School District plans to lease this field space for its baseball and softball teams – which were displaced due to construction of the new high school – until new fields are ready in 2020 as a final component of multi-year Mount Si rebuild project.
The 12 acres of land slated to hold the Snoqualmie Valley Athletic Complex sits in the flood plain, which makes building anything more complicated as ground water tables and flood code impact construction requirements. The property also has a creek running through it so buildable land is constrained by the creek’s 100-foot buffer.
According to City of North Bend Public Works Director Mark Rigos, city staff provided engineering plan review comments to the developer, Snoqualmie Valley Athletic Association, in September 2017. He said they are waiting for the updated plans and reports from SVAA.
Rigos added via email, “North Bend Municipal Code has environmental related restrictions and limitations that are impacting this project. The City’s technical staff is providing guidance and recommendations to SVAA and their consultants. The City would like to see this project move forward and be successful.”
Once these engineering review issues are addressed, Rigos anticipated construction could begin this summer.
Athletic Complex Developer and Snoqualmie Valley resident Wende Miller said they plan to submit the required design changes and reports to the city in the next couple of weeks.
Wende said her team is very committed to the project and anticipates the complex bringing needed field space to the Valley, as well as attracting tournaments and visitors to the area. She noted that in the last two years the athletic complex industry has grown from a from a $9 billion to $15 billion industry.
The first phase of construction is estimated to take 4-5 months, depending on the weather. SVAA hopes to start construction later this spring and have the fields ready in time for Wildcat Jr. Football season in the fall and lacrosse and baseball/softball seasons in the spring.
Miller commented via email, “We are committed to this project and look forward to delivering it to our contractual users that have been so patient, the Snoqualmie Valley and the NW region that will benefit from this state of the art athletic facility.”
See conceptual renderings of Snoqualmie Valley Athletic Complex below:
