After more than a year of uncertainty over whether the Brooklyn Park Community Center would keep its two ice rinks or convert one into basketball courts, city officials came up with a new plan they say will not require compromise.

“It’s really about, you know, addition, not subtraction,” said Brooklyn Park Recreation and Parks Director Brad Tullberg. “The community wants both.”

The city is now planning an estimated $23.5 million addition, leaving the rinks untouched and building more space for courts.

“We’re talking three courts… to be lined for basketball, volleyball, futsal, but also could be additional indoor event space; Really, a kind of a multi-purpose community space in general,” he said.

Mayor Hollies Winston said he envisions a regional hub for youth sports.

“We know the numbers and the demand is there, and so we feel like it can also help with some of the tax revenue that we’re looking to generate just across the entire city,” he said.

The city has been sitting on $5 million it received from the Minnesota Legislature in 2023 for the original conversion project.

Winston was back at the capitol last week to ask lawmakers for $9.5 million more to help cover the new and more expensive plans.

“I’m not worried about it. Maybe I’m an eternal optimist, but I also think that we have some good arguments to make as a city. We have, traditionally, been underinvested in, right?” he said.

“Because we feel like, if youth have access to things that they can afford, it keeps them going in the right path versus the wrong path, and that’s very much what we’re about as a city.”

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s the overall support for young people and families in our community,” Tullberg said, adding that the city plans on going through with the update whether or not lawmakers

It would delay the process as officials would have to find another way to cover the cost.

Once the money is in hand, Tullberg said it’ll take about a year and a half to get the job done.