Soldotna Field House welcomes public during grand opening

The Soldotna Field House welcomed the public for the first time during a grand opening celebration on Saturday that featured soccer, basketball, pickleball and more.

The full facility was open for exploration during the event. The modular flooring, which can be adjusted to accommodate various different sports, had one turf field, one hardwood court and a concrete floor area with a variety of booths representing local recreation organizations like Tsalteshi Trails Association, the Kenai Peninsula Soccer Club and the Kenai Peninsula Hockey Association.

Before people entered the field house for the first time, the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony where Mayor Paul Whitney opened the facility.

Speaking after the ribbon was cut, Whitney said that the field house represented the culmination of much hard work from many people.

“I think everybody is just going to have an absolutely wonderful time.”

Joel Todd, Soldotna’s parks and recreation director, echoed Whitney.

“It’s been a lot of years of thinking and dreaming and coming up with policies and procedures — what we think the community needs and wants,” he said. “To finally be able to see it in action is very rewarding.”

John and Linda Bishop, of Sterling, were walking the upstairs track during the grand ceremony. They said that they could see themselves using the track regularly, especially in the wintertime when other exercise options might be too chilly.

“It’s huge,” Linda said.

John said he’d like to see events held inside.

Quade Tucker-Wood, who’s 9 years old, said he was most excited to play soccer in the field house, but that he’s involved in lots of sports from hockey to football and can see himself spending a lot of time playing sports at the facility.

The field house will continue to evolve over the coming years, Todd and Whitney said. Whitney pointed to plans to develop and construct a connecting building between the field house and the existing ice rink facility next door — that was part of the original field house design but was cut out to conserve costs.

Todd said his department will shift the field house to meet needs and wants over time, after it opens for regular programs. A lot of time has been spent thinking about how people might use the field house, but the reality might look a little different.

“When all the toys get here and we’re actually running drop-in sports and seeing adults come out to play, that’s when we’re really gonna learn a lot,” Todd said.

After this weekend’s grand opening, the facility will be closed to the public to make way for two major annual events, the Kenai River Sportfishing Association’s 33rd Annual Kenai River Classic and Kenai River Classic Roundtable this week, and the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank’s 30th Annual Soup Supper Fundraiser on Aug. 23.

The field house will open on Sept. 2 for regular operations, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. When the field house opens in September, all of its spaces will be hardwood courts, for volleyball, basketball, pickleball and futsal — which is like soccer. Todd said that configuration will continue until either late December or early January, when the field house will switch to all turf, for flag football indoor soccer, rugby, frisbee and others.

General admission costs $5 and provides access to the walking track, open gym and drop-in sports. There’s also a $3 discounted rate for youth 4-18 years old, seniors older than 65, active-duty military and veterans. There’s a 10-punch card, a 30-day membership and a three-month pass available as well, each with a general and discounted rate.

Hourly rentals will be available for the turf, court and batting cage, as well as an event rental. A pickleball court rental costs $20, a basketball court rental is $50, a half-field turf rental is $60 and a single-day event rental is $2,500, among other options.

When the field house opens, Central Peninsula Hospital is sponsoring free walks for seniors aged 65 and older. That free walking time will be held from Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon under a partnership between the hospital and the city.

It was fewer than two years ago that a groundbreaking was held for the Soldotna Field House, and only three since voters authorized the $15 million bond for its construction in October 2022. A historical display around the upstairs walking track recapped the long development process of the field house, with the earliest entry on the timeline being August of 1983.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.