Negotiations between the Stadium Foundation and the city of Urbandale continue over the location of Liberty Bank Stadium, the permanent home for the Des Moines Menace soccer club set to open in the spring of 2004. Discussions include talk with an undisclosed developer about a second site west of the Interstate 35/80 corridor in Urbandale. Meanwhile, the team is exploring the possibility of a stadium partnership with Drake University and it is being courted by Ankeny city officials.

Plans for the stadium’s original location in the heart of Urbandale’s Timberline Village Center, a village-style shopping district on the corner of 138th Street and Douglas Parkway, fell through last month due to unanticipated development costs. Sharon Krause, stadium foundation director, said the team had an agreement with Knapp Properties to develop the site.

“We hit a few snags in terms of development costs,” she said. “The site is still very viable from a development side, but from the financial side, we have to look elsewhere.”

Urbandale Mayor Brad Zaun said officials are working on another proposal. “The original site is out, but we have another site,” he said.

Zaun would not disclose the second site’s specific location, but said it was close to the original site near Grimes and would have the 34 acres needed to develop the project.

“We have had explosive growth in that area, and we know a stadium would spur more development,” he said.

Zaun said city officials are determining whether the project is financially viable so it won’t put Urbandale taxpayers at risk.

Krause also would not disclose the location of the new site, but said so far, it appears as though it would meet the team’s needs in terms of retail and restaurant support as well as interstate access.

“That stretch of I-35 and I-80, where it goes to Grimes, is the busiest piece of roadway in the state,” she said. “As you drive down there, you’ll notice restaurants and hotels along that corridor.

“The other site has good potential for the stadium. We’re waiting for the numbers to come back in the next week or two. The sooner we find a site, the sooner we can get into our new home. Fortunately the design of the stadium is fairly transferable.”

Urbandale officials are about to find out if their Vision Iowa money is transferable, too.

In June, Vision Iowa awarded the city a $2.5 million grant for the stadium project. Vision Iowa board members have asked Urbandale officials to attend their meeting Dec. 11 to provide an update on the stadium’s progress.

“We have heard street talk about the stadium, and we want to know what the project’s status is,” said Vision Iowa board Chairman Michael Gartner.

Zaun said he is hopeful the project will be built in Urbandale, but will also support it if it goes elsewhere.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Urbandale, but I’m a true believer in this project no matter where it goes,” he said. “It’s an awesome project for the area, and I’m more than willing to sign over the money if it goes to Drake or somewhere else. I’m not stupid enough to be greedy and say it has to be in Urbandale. I just want it in the metro area.”

Last week, Stadium Foundation members and Ankeny city officials had preliminary discussions about moving the project there. Krause said the foundation is keeping an open mind when fielding offers. “We have an interest to talk to anyone at this point,” she said. “We’re anxious to move the project forward.”

Meanwhile, the team continues to explore a stadium partnership with Drake University, which is making renovations to Drake Stadium. Krause said the logistics of meeting the needs of both the university and the Menace in one stadium could be an obstacle. Still, she said, the two sides continue to talk.

“There are no good examples without seriously compromising the design of either team’s side, unfortunately. So that’s what we’re struggling with,” Krause said. “They have a fantastic vision for what they want to do, but clearly their facility is a track facility and what we’re trying to create is a unique soccer stadium. There are some design challenges to try to get through to see if that partnership will work.”

Drake President David Maxwell said he doesn’t see any obstacles. University officials have proposed three site plans that offer the same field configurations, but vary in seating options, so the parties can co-exist.

“A combined facility from an economic perspective makes a lot of sense,” he said. “We’ve come up with three that we can live with while finding a way to accommodate the Menace. We’re trying very hard to make it work.”

No deadline has been set, but Maxwell said both parties would like to resolve the issue soon.

“We would like to enter the new year with an idea so we can meet construction needs,” he said.

Sharon Krause and her husband, Menace owner Kyle Krause, and team president and general manager John Brandt recently met with HOK Design in Florida to discuss “value engineering” for the stadium. Sharon Krause said the foundation will scale back its spending from $24 million to approximately $20 million or $21 million. She said the stadium could be converted from a bowl setting to an above-ground facility. Plans also call for reducing the size of the locker rooms, coaches’ offices and storage space.

“We’re stepping back on a few things behind the scenes, but we won’t change anything that affects the entertainment experience of the spectators,” Krause said.

The soccer-specific stadium will be only the fifth of its kind in the country and will include a state-of-the-art field, club seating, 31 corporate suites and a full-service press box. The 6,000-seat stadium will be available for several soccer events, including Major League Soccer and tournaments at all levels.

The stadium also will be utilized for other sporting events, graduation ceremonies and outdoor festivals, its seating capacity will be expandable up to 15,000 for concerts. A winter season bubble will enclose the playing surface to permit events to be held year-round.

“We want to draw events 365 days a year,” Krause said. “We want it to be used as much as possible.”

The Des Moines Menace hold the Premier Development League record for both single-game (5,456) and season attendance, with an average turnout of 4,400 fans per game in 2002. Krause said an analysis conducted two years ago by Minneapolis-based consultants Convention, Sports and Leisure International said the stadium would have a $6.5 million economic impact on Central Iowa. That figure increases to $10 million when using 2004 projections, Krause said. Approximately 40 percent of that total is employee wages.

“Clearly these numbers show why there is significant interest among communities to host this facility,” she said.