Council approves pavilion agreements

City joins forces with The Rec, sports academy

The Fort Dodge Community Recreation Center and the Siouxland Sports Academy will have leading roles in the operation of the sports pavilion at Corridor Plaza as a result of City Council action Monday.

The council unanimously approved agreements with the two groups, setting up a partnership for the future of the sprawling facility.

The Fort Dodge Community Recreation Center, best known as The Rec, will provide fitness classes,weightlifting and other workout options.

The sports academy, from Sioux City, will operate youth sports leagues and camps in the building.

"This is a community that is absolutely hungry for opportunities for kids and for economic development," Dustin Cooper, the executive director of Siouxland Sports Academy, said during the council meeting. “We’re excited to get started."

Under the agreements, the city will continue to own the building and will be responsible for major maintenance, utility bills, insurance and parking.

Councilmembers approved the agreements without debate.

The documents approved Monday provide a basic outline for the partnership between the city, The Rec, and the sports academy. More detailed operating, legal and financial agreements will be crafted in the future.

Monday's approval will not bring quick changes to the pavilion. To accommodate The Rec, the northeast and southeast corners of the building will be renovated. The Rec will pay for those renovations.

Cooper previously said that his organization will be ready to start working in the pavilion by the end of the first quarter of 2027.

The pavilion at 260 S. 27th St. is a 51,000 square foot building that houses five basketball courts, five volleyball courts, three pickleball courts, six batting cages and a walking track.

The agreements are the latest chapter in the turbulent history of the pavilion.

The pavilion was proposed by MandM LLC, of Ankeny, which has two similar facilities in Iowa. Local officials looking for something in addition to shopping to draw people to Corridor Plaza embraced the plan.

But the company had trouble financing the project.

City Council members said they didn't want the project to fail and intervened. It was not a popular decision and it sparked several stormy council meetings as residents criticized the idea of city help for the pavilion.

In January 2025, the council bought the building from 3 &1 LLC for $10.1 million.

Then in April 2025, the council sold it back to MandMLLC for $12.1 million. The sale was structured so that payments from the company would pay off the debt the city incurred to buy the building.

In the spring of 2026, a transition occurred within MandM LLC. The result was the original leaders from Ankeny were replaced by a local group led by Matt Johnson.

Right after the company announced that transition, the city filed a notice of forfeiture of real estate contract against it.

In that notice, attorneys for the city wrote that the company was in default on its contract for these reasons:

It failed to pay any money to the city

It did not provide complete monthly financial information required by the contract.

It did not deposit revenue from the pavilion into the required account

Money was used for purposes not allowed under the contract instead of making payments to the city.

The notice of forfeiture gave the company 30 days to come into compliance with the terms of the real estate contract.

That 30 day period ended July 6.

That day City Manager David Fierke and Assistant City Manager Ryan Maehl went to the pavilion to inform the staff that the local government was taking over.

Johnson refused to voluntarily turn over control of the building.

A pair of court cases and voluminous legal filings followed. That ended on Sept. 23 when Johnson gave the building to the city upon learning that the court cases could continue for months or even years.