A neighborhood meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Knapp-Storms dining center, near Towers Residence Halls, to discuss the sports complex and agriculture pavilion that will be built in the area. 

The sports complex will feature a new outdoor track, facilities for Cyclone soccer and softball fields if the budget will allow it.

The Board of Regents passed a capital improvement plan for the sports complex, which has an anticipated project cost of $10.7 million.

Warren Madden, vice president of business and finance, said there is a series of steps for projects to go through in order to get approval from the Board of Regents.

The first step is to approve planning, which has already passed, then develop a program.

Madden said the first step of development will be RDG Planning and Design firm out of Des Moines to work on planning the project.

This will be relatively straightforward for this project because it is a soccer field and track, he said.

Madden said part of what RDG is looking at is the need for lighting, locker rooms and parking.

“An example [of developing a program] is the track and field. You can’t have a javelin-throwing area in the middle of a soccer field,” Madden said.

He said the ISU Athletic Department would like to relocate the soccer field by Lied Recreation Athletic Facility and the Southwest Sports Complex because the sites haven’t worked out well.

Madden said because the Athletic Department dropped baseball, that left the softball facility out on its own.

The soccer field was damaged by the floods and unusable for a portion of the summer, he said.

Madden said FEMA probably won’t pay for the actual soccer field being built, but may help move the existing physical structures such as the bleachers and press box on the soccer field.

The Agriculture Pavilion will feature a large arena that can be used for horseshoes, livestock events and will have seating for 1,000 people, said Maynard Hogberg, professor and chairman of animal sciences.

Hogberg said the area can be used by student clubs and will have four classrooms.

Some teaching programs will be moved for lab work so students can interact with the animals, Hogberg said.

The Animal Sciences program is currently using the Iowa Farm Bureau Pavilion east of Kildee Hall.

“It’s very small and hard to access,” Hogberg said.

He said there are plans to move the horses over to the area as well.

“The stables we are using now don’t protect from weather and snow … it’s not that safe when it’s icy,” Hogberg said.

Almost $5 million has been raised for the $7 million agriculture pavilion.

Madden said he wanted to meet with the neighborhood and talk about both sites so they can see the bigger picture.

He said he didn’t want it to seem as if the university kept “piece-milling things in.”

The projects would be beneficial to the ice facility because it will improve parking, Madden said.

“Parking has been one of the challenges out there,” Madden said.

He said the ice arena is a joint city and university building. It is used for intramurals as well as a figure skating group in the community. Ames High School uses the facility for hockey as well.

Madden said the projects would also benefit Special Olympics of Iowa by putting everything in one area.

Madden said he would like for the neighborhood to attend the meeting.

He said he has received some e-mails from community members that want further clarification on the project.

Madden said they have mostly been dealing with what is going to happen with drainage and land runoff.

Madden said it is a challenge trying to present this kind of concept to the community.

“People say it’s a done deal … but this is a chance for the community to help improve the project,” Madden said.