Lakeville Soccer Club is consolidating three scattered training locations into one 21,000 square foot facility, and it just cleared its first major hurdle with the Planning Commission.
The commission voted 6-0 on January 15th to approve a conditional use permit for the indoor soccer facility at 21300 Juniper Way. If City Council gives final approval on February 2nd, the club will move forward with plans to bring all winter training back to Lakeville.
The new facility will occupy 21,000 square feet inside the same 190,000 square foot building that houses one of the South Metro's newest year-round pickleball facilities. Here's what the soccer club is planning:
Right now, the club operates out of three different locations: their facility on Heron Way, rented time at Lakeville North dome, and winter training space outside the city. The consolidation means families won't have to drive outside Lakeville for practice anymore.
James Beard, the club's finance manager, told the Planning Commission that the current setup has become unmanageable. "We've outgrown the available space and have had to rent additional winter training space," Beard explained.
The club has grown steadily over the past three years at their Heron Way location. That growth forced them to rent space outside Lakeville because there simply isn't enough indoor soccer capacity locally during winter months.
The new facility solves that problem by bringing everything under one roof in Lakeville.
Planning commissioners asked the obvious question: will the building have enough parking when both the soccer facility and pickleball facility are operating?
The answer is yes. The building has 280 parking spaces after the owner eliminated some semi-truck parking and added 58 regular stalls specifically for recreational uses. Most soccer training happens after 5pm when industrial tenants are gone for the day.
If congestion becomes an issue, the club has contingency plans:
Here's a detail most people missed: the soccer club's staff currently uses the pavilion at Steve Michaud Park for office work. That's public space that other community members and organizations need.
The new facility includes dedicated office and meeting space, which means the club won't be competing with residents for public amenities anymore.
Not a single person showed up to oppose the project at the public hearing. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval.
Commissioner Swanson noted he was initially concerned about parking when he saw both pickleball and soccer in the same building, but after reviewing the scale of the facility and parking lot, "it became a non-issue."
The conditional use permit goes to City Council for final approval on February 2nd. If approved, Lakeville Soccer Club plans to submit detailed development plans within a month and move forward with the consolidation.
For Lakeville soccer families who've been driving outside the city for winter training, this could mean significantly easier schedules starting next season.
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