A rendering of the proposed Soldotna Regional Sports Complex field house. Unofficial election results leave the field house’s future up in the air. (City of Soldotna)

A rendering of the proposed Soldotna Regional Sports Complex field house. Unofficial election results leave the field house’s future up in the air. (City of Soldotna)

Early results show no bond for Soldotna field house

Soldotna’s field house bond may have failed at the polls, but with over 150 votes still in question, the narrow defeat is still uncertain.

After the polls closed on Tuesday night, the ordinance failed by 21 votes, 290 to 268. The unofficial results, though, left a good portion of votes uncounted.

“We currently have 149 absentee ballots in our custody, 22 questioned ballots and there are still 18 that went out absentee,” said Soldotna City Clerk Shelly Saner. “As long as they are postmarked by (March 5) and received before (March 12), they will be canvassed with the others.”

The remaining votes will be canvassed on March 12 at 9 a.m. Saner said she hopes to have an update to the unofficial results by the end of the day on March 12. The results are not official, though, until the are certified by the city council. The election’s certification is currently on the agenda for the March 13 Soldotna City Council meeting.

The election asked voters if the city should issue a $10 million dollar bond to fund the construction of the field house. The city’s sales tax would then increase by a half percent to cover the debt.

The total cost of the approximately 42,000 square foot building is estimated at $11.8 million dollars. If the bond was approved, $10 million will be financed through debt of a general obligation bond, with the remaining covered by private funders, donations, grants or, if needed, funds previously authorized by the city council.

The city would take on a 10-year bond with an interest rate between 3 and 3.5 percent. It would be paid off in 10 years with 10 annual payments.

The half-percent sales tax increase would cover that debt, increasing the tax from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.

More in News

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club in Moose Pass, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Insurance authorization bill sponsored by Bjorkman, Ruffidge becomes law

The bill requires insurance companies and health care providers to meet new deadlines for authorizing requests for care.

A map of the Johnson Tract Mine exploration project. Photo courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity
Inletkeeper, partners file lawsuit against Cook Inlet gold mine

The Johnson Tract Mine is located on CIRI-owned lands inside Lake Clark National Park.

A sockeye salmon is carried from the waters of Cook Inlet on North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai River dipnet fishery open 24 hours beginning Friday night

Per fish counts available from the department, 471,000 sockeye have been counted so far this year — with 108,000 counted on Wednesday alone.

Attorneys Eric Derleth and Dan Strigle speak to Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson during the opening arguments of State of Alaska v. Nathan Erfurth at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opening arguments offered in Erfurth trial

The trial is set to continue for around two weeks, into early August.

Evacuees in Seward, Alaska, walk along Adams Street following a tsunami warning on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tsunami warning canceled following 7.3 earthquake near Sand Point

An all clear was issued for Kachemak Bay communities at 1:48 p.m. by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management.

The Ninilchik River on May 18, 2019, in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Ninilchik River to remain closed to king salmon fishing

It was an “error in regulation” that would have opened the Ninilchik River to king salmon fishing on Wednesday.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski woman sentenced to 4 years in prison for 2023 drug death

Lawana Barker was sentenced for her role in the 2023 death of Michael Rodgers.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Seward resident arrested after Monday night police pursuit

Troopers say she led them on a high-speed chase on Kalifornsky Beach Road for around 7 miles.

Most Read