Duluth sports teams share their hopes of future athletic venues

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) — Duluth’s sports venues are going to get some major upgrades, but before those projects happen, the public got a chance to share their input.

Over the past few years, the Duluth Parks and Recreation Department has been pushing to rebuild the areas local sports scene.

“We’re seeing some of our partner communities get ahead of us,” said Jessica Peterson, the Manager of Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Department.

In order to achieve the goal of revamping sports in the Northland, the city started the Athletic Venues Reinvestment Initiative. The plan will guide more than $30 million in investments for spaces that bring in regional sports tourism, including indoor and outdoor spaces, as well as upgrading existing facilities and planning for new opportunities.

“Places like Wade, Wheeler, Arlington, Jean Duluth, where we know there is already a high concentration of sporting events, activities, and tournaments,” Peterson said.

Before the city starts major projects, they asked Duluth residents to weigh in on the future of the city’s athletic spaces during a Tuesday night input meeting.

“Competing with rink space is hard,” said Danielle Able, a member of Duluth’s Harbor City Roller Derby team.

Able was among those who attended the input meeting at the Portman Community Center. While at the meeting, she noted that rink space is nearly impossible to come by in the winter, especially for the area’s roller derby team.

“Right now, we practice at a Washington Center Gym in downtown Duluth, just kind of on the basketball floor. So, we’re also competing with basketball too,” Able said. “It would be awesome if there was a place that did like an indoor hockey concrete rink.”

Able said she hopes the city adds more variety to the different types of venues that are available so her team, and others, will have a secure place to practice and play games.

“Just getting to play is always super fun,” Able said.

There are two more open houses the public can attend:

Open House #2: Wednesday, August 28 at Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior Street (in the Green Room), from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Open House #3: Wednesday, August 28 at Morgan Park Community Center, 1242 88th Avenue W. from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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