Blaine: City Wary Of Using Eminent Domain For Sports Complex

Developer John Donnelly said that his plan for a $150 million sports and entertainment complex won't be able to attract investors without removing five light-industrial properties next to the site. Donnelly described the project as an asset to "Blaine's identity as an amateur athletics center for the Midwest." Plans include a hotel, water park, fitness center, restaurants, a lake and public square, not to mention indoor surfing and skydiving! Donnelly's group is a spin-off of a previous developer that proposed a smaller version of the complex in 2005. The current project represents 30 developable acres on a larger site that encompasses 63 acres.