Essay #2 Final Draft

Stadium de Fairbanks

Our humble community of Fairbanks supports indoor and outdoor soccer seasons, two league hockey teams, comp. hockey teams, rec. hockey teams, one indoor football team, all university sports, and high school basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Right now Fairbanks has to rely on the availability of the elementary, middle, and high schools for playing time during the indoor and outdoor soccer seasons. For high school sports, things get hard when a high school is supposed to host a championship or tournament. The high school gym just does not adequately support the number of players, families, and other spectators that come to support their teams. Our comp. and rec. hockey players in town have four options for games, and practices. Fairbanks has the Big Dipper Ice Arena which is equipped with three outdoor rinks, and one indoor rink, the rink at UAF’s patty center, a rink on Fort Wainwright military base, and a rink a half an hour out of town in North Pole. These rinks are not enough for the comp. and rec. hockey teams. Not only that, but the Fairbanks Ice Dogs and UAF Nanooks bring large crowds that need more accommodation! Although extremely expensive and believed to be underutilized, Fairbanks should finance the construction of an indoor stadium that would house soccer, football, basketball, and hockey because it would increase spectator turnout, UAF would have more NCAA sports options, and tourist revenue would increase.

Fairbanks residents are very involved in the spectating of these sports. When winter rolls around and hockey season begins, a vast majority of the Fairbanks community turnout for the Nanook hockey games. The town is growing rapidly, expanding in
size and population, and with this expansion a large indoor stadium is necessary and expected. This indoor stadium would include 2 soccer/football turf fields, 2 ice rinks, 2 basketball/volleyball courts, a track, and an Olympic sized swimming
pool. The stadium will have larger locker rooms, more seating, and because of the increased revenue they will be making, the ticket prices will be less than the complexes we have now, such as Big Dipper and Carlson Center. As for food, there
would be a full food court with multiple food choices including fast food, sit down and perhaps even Fairbanks owned and operated drive-thru restaurants.

Several people think that Fairbanks is becoming too populated and that all the construction going on is not benefiting our town one bit. With those people, I agree. The majority of the construction in Fairbanks is shopping malls, chain restaurants, and hotels. People from all over the world to not come here to eat the same old food, shop the same old shops and stay in the same old hotels. They come for the great Alaskan experience. That is where the indoor stadium comes into play. Alaskan teams, with pure Alaskan heart. It is a place of community, something we can all take part in and share the benefits.

The amount of students who receive athletic NCAA scholarships in Alaska is limited. Fairbanks only has a handful of students accepted for sports in the lower 48 each year. Our programs are not meant for the big division leagues and a huge part of this is due to the fact that we do not have an indoor stadium. Building an indoor stadium would entice better coaching staff to move to Fairbanks, thus enhancing our school’s athletic programs. Better coaching staff, more sport opportunities, and better quality sport equipment will give all the students in Fairbanks stronger chances to receive recruitment to NCAA schools. The stronger our coaching is, the stronger our teams will be. In turn, more recruiters will be interested in Fairbanks' students and their true talents.

Some citizens of Fairbanks may think the stadium will not help recruitment at all, but that is very wrong. This stadium is a way for young and prospective athletes to get recognized and accepted into the league they are fit for. Recruiters will travel to see an athlete if they find them worthwhile. Until the stadium is built though, there is no place to show them what Fairbanks has to offer.

Sports enthusiasts around the world take trips, traveling the world to see their favorite teams. By building an indoor stadium and making more teams able to compete in sports leagues, it is possible to increase the tourist revenue. More tourists will come to see the teams compete, especially if they are worthwhile teams in a nice stadium. The money that funnels into the sports stadium from tourist will go back into the city and the stadium, building it bigger and better. With more tourists; the hotels, the grocery stores, and the gas stations will make more money. As more money is funneled into the city through the tourism, the city is also able to make upgrades.

Fairbanks residents may ask how much money it will take, how much time, and where will it be built? Starting with money; It will cost a few million dollars to construct the stadium. It seems like a huge amount of money, but I can assure that it will be worth the cost in every way. Who wouldn't help pay to have their son/daughter healthy and drug free? Time taken to construct this project all depends on who wins the construction bid, how much volunteer help and time is donated, and also what path the weather takes. The more volunteer and community involvement, the lower the cost will be and the faster the time taken to build the stadium will be. It will be built out towards North Pole, off the Richardson. There are many acres of land there for sale that will be utilized for the stadium.

All in all, the construction of a large indoor stadium would be a huge advantage to the Fairbanks economy and its residents. The increase in scholarships,
recruitments, and tourist revenue will greatly benefit in all aspects. The community will be able to unite in a way they have not been able to since the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital was first built. Athletics will be greatly supported, increasing the health of our Golden Heart City. Sports are anti-drugs and help kids get through school. With this increased emphasis on the athletics programs, kids will be more involved, less likely to do drugs, and more likely to excel. NCAA is a great reward for the hard work students do to make it through with good grades and above average sport records. With the stadium built, there will be more jobs available and more money flowing into the city. The sports stadium is an essential part to a town and it is essential that our students excel and make it through life, following their dreams, having all the same chances of getting into the big schools of their dreams as any of the other states' students.