PORT ANGELES – Supporters of bringing an air-supported building to the city for indoor soccer and tennis were told last week that Port Angeles is one of two finalists to receive the donation.
“We had a follow-up teleconference interview that seemed to go well, and were told that the final selection will be announced in one to two weeks,” James Schouten wrote in an e-mail announcing the decision.
The “Bubble,” as the building is called, would house indoor tennis and soccer.
It is proposed to be set up at Erickson Park, just west of the Port Angeles Skate Park and across the street from the Clallam County YMCA building at 302 S. Francis St.
Schouten, who has championed the project, is a member of the Peninsula Tennis Club, which has not formally endorsed the project.
He said that more than 20 applications were submitted for the building, which is being donated by an anonymous tennis enthusiast through the U.S. Tennis Association to a nonprofit organization in the Pacific Northwest.
The only cost the recipient must pay is for shipping the deflated structure – complete with lights, a blower, heating and air conditioning equipment – from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The cost of shipping is estimated at $20,000.
Schouten estimated that as much as $550,000 would be needed for site preparation, installation, anchors for the building, extension of utilities, parking and other costs.
That money could come from $150,000 the Clallam County Family YMCA set aside for a previous field house proposal, plus seven annual payments of $50,000 also approved by the City Council for that proposal, Schouten has said.
The estimated monthly utility cost is $750, while the city’s parks and recreation department already maintains the area of Erickson Park on which the 296-foot-long building would set and user fees could cover operating costs, Schouten has said.
The building measures 296 feet long, 118 feet wide and 40 feet high.
It is four years old and has a 20-year life expectancy.
The building does not have a supporting frame, instead maintaining its shape using continuous low-pressure air supplied by a blower.
The Clallam County Family YMCA agreed earlier this month to be the sponsoring nonprofit agency on the application.
The city Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission voted 3-1 with one abstention on Nov. 1 to send the issue to the City Council, which endorsed the project at its Nov. 7 meeting.
The building is manufactured by Birdair Structures Inc., based located in Amherst, N.Y.
Its exterior is made from a “high performance architectural fabric” manufactured by the Seaman Corp. of Wooster, Ohio.
