Lee’s Summit city council signs off on controversial sports complex soccer dome
Lee’s Summit City Council members voted Tuesday night to give a pair of approvals for a large inflatable soccer dome planned at a sports complex off View High Drive.
The View High Sports and Entertainment complex dome proposal had drawn the ire of a group of neighbors and praise from the local soccer community. A large crowd of community members showed up to speak during a public hearing at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Council members went on to vote 8-1 in favor of the dome Tuesday night and advanced a preliminary development plan and a special use permit for the roughly 75,000-square-foot dome. The structure would cover an outdoor soccer field from late November to late March and reach about 60 feet in height. Council members voted for a five-year approval window that would require the complex to return to the city for another vote after that period.
Supporters of the dome urged council members to consider the benefits for area youth, how it would cut down on travel for local soccer families during the winter months and keep their money in Lee’s Summit.
Residents of homes near the proposed dome pointed to concerns like its fit with the neighborhood, what they believe would be a drag on property values in the area and said the dome was an example of “project creep.”
Developers received city approval for the broader complex last year, but construction has yet to proceed at the site. Plans call for a roughly 180,000-square-foot facility with an indoor soccer field, basketball and volleyball courts, an athletic training center, a restaurant and a family entertainment center. The complex will also have about 90,000 square feet of outdoor athletics space, including the convertible soccer field and pickleball courts.
Matt Schlicht, an engineer for the project with the firm Engineering Solutions, told council members that adding the dome would allow for regional tournaments at the complex and said collegiate tournaments have also inquired about using the space.
“We believe the dome creates an opportunity for this project to succeed beyond what anybody could have believed,” he said. “We believe this project is something that can put Lee’s Summit on a map.”
Justin Beebe, one of the managing partners with 3D Builders KC, the developer behind the complex, said the group proposed adding the dome to plans for the complex after seeing a swell of interest in indoor soccer space and also indicated that financial considerations played a role in the proposal. During the discussion Tuesday, Beebe was asked by council member Hillary Shields if the project could move ahead without the dome.
Beebe said the developer was resolved to see the project through, but cautioned that the group was still in a preliminary phase and was working through leasing and financing for the complex.
“To speak with certainty about the final outcome of the project is difficult because there are so many variables that still have to be overcome, aside from financing,” he said. “So I can’t say it with certainty and say that regardless of the outcome of this vote, it’s going to get built either way today. We certainly are endeavoring to do so.”
Proposal reactions
Jessica Hamm, one of several neighbors of the complex site who spoke during Tuesday’s public hearing, said she was concerned about traffic coming through her neighborhood and her home’s view of the dome site.
“We’re asking for there not to be a dome when we step out on our back porch,” she said. “The back of our house is, like many other Lee’s Summit homes, lots of very large windows. We’re quite devastated by this project in general, but especially once we heard that this dome was going up.”
Said Doug Hay, another neighbor: “My family chose this neighborhood for its seclusion, open space and natural settings. Over the past four years, the character has already changed significantly. Placing a dome of this magnitude immediately behind homes places an unfair burden on a small group of residents for the benefit enjoyed by the broader community.”
Supporters of the project, including The Summit Church, which sits just north of the complex site, have said the dome would help to fill the demand for indoor recreational space during the winter months.
“Council members, this is our moment,” said Lee’s Summit’s Kate Campbell. “We need you to help us choose opportunity for our next generation. I, along with all the other soccer moms, support this five-year special use permit and preliminary development plan tonight and can’t wait to show the world that Lee’s Summit knows how to invest in our kids’ future.”
Mayor Bill Baird acknowledged the concerns raised by neighbors but noted his previous support of the project and said he wanted to see it advance.
“It’s a leap of faith, because I would like to see this go forward,” he said. “I would like to see the positive benefits that we’re talking about tonight. It has challenged this council, because we’ve questioned, ‘What in the world is going on? Why are we dealing with this again when we’ve already approved it?’”
“With that said, you’re going to get a yes out of me,” he said. “But this is one of the toughest yeses I’ve had to do.”
Said council member Shields: “I’ve heard from a ton of families who are tired of driving all over the place and would rather live, work, play in Lee’s Summit. I think it would benefit them. I think it would benefit our economy when those dollars aren’t going to Kansas every weekend; they’re staying here.”
