“I feel like people were thinking of this as some sort of recreational area, like 125 Live [senior center], but geared towards kids,” said Mahathi Kandimalla, after raising concerns about the lack of activities for kids in town at a recent city council meeting. “I don’t think anyone was thinking of it as something that will bring people into Rochester and then they’ll spend money at hotels and restaurants. That wasn’t the first thing coming to people’s minds.”

State Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, said the city’s best move would be to pause plans and let the community decide what the priorities should be for the complex. Hicks, a mother of six, called the city’s proposal to exclude indoor play area a “missed opportunity.”

“Before they asked the taxpayers to vote on it, they went to the community and asked what they wanted,” Hicks said in an interview. “They incorporated what the community wanted into the ask for tax revenue. And then when they didn’t have enough money, they went back to what they wanted and left out all of the community feedback. It just boggles my mind.”

Changing course now, however, may not be viable, said Parrish. Within the $65 million budget, it is unlikely an indoor center can be built as imagined. There would also be annual operating costs, estimated to be between $500,000 to $1 million, that would further strain the city’s budget.

Parrish said the better move is to build momentum with outdoor facilities — including eight diamond fields, two artificial turf rectangular fields, pickleball courts and a playground — while continuing to explore alternative funding options for a second phase that would include an indoor facility.

Rochester City Council Member Shaun Palmer agrees. He said while plans have evolved over time, the complex was originally intended to be an outdoor-based facility that could generate regional interest.