An artificial turf field is coming to Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, which city officials say could help fill an indoor sports void left after the collapse this winter of the inflatable sports complex The Dome.
The turf, designed to cover the arena's ice rink when the ice isn't in use, is among a dozen upgrades planned for the 1980s-era facility through a years-old state legislative grant. Other projects include the purchase of new emergency lighting and camera systems, acoustic upgrades, a new portable stage and 1,000 folding chairs, according to a list provided by city development director Chris Schutte.
The upgrades come as the city-owned arena was showing signs of financial trouble. The facility recorded a nearly $600,000 revenue loss in 2016, even before its biggest tenant, the Alaska Aces hockey club, folded this spring.
[Sullivan Arena posts $600,000 operating loss for 2016, well before Aces exit]
Schutte said the hope is to have the turf field operating by this winter, as an option for soccer, flag football and other sports clubs. The collapse of the Dome "inspired" the contractor to look into a turf field, Schutte said.
The nonprofit corporation that runs The Dome has said it is moving forward with plans to repair and rebuild the structure.
The money for the field and the other upgrades is coming from a 2012 legislative grant. Of the original $3.7 million grant awarded by the state Legislature in 2012, more than half was spent examining a parking expansion for Sullivan Arena. That effort has since been abandoned, leaving more than a million dollars unspent.
The money was going to expire, but then city parks and facilities officials and the contractor that runs Sullivan Arena, SMG of Alaska, put together a list of upgrades, Schutte said. He said state grant administrators decided the original grant was broad enough to cover the proposed upgrades.