Proposed football complex loses its footing

By Kip Cheek, Editor-in-Chief

MENDOTA – A large group of Mendota residents with a passion for soccer filled the council chambers to show their support for a soccer complex originally proposed for Mendota but possibly lost to Princeton.

At the Mendota City Council meeting on July 1, Aurora Medina, spokesperson for the group, said the idea of ​​building a soccer complex was first brought to the attention of Mendota city officials in August 2023. One outsider, Gordon Raketic of Newark, who is affiliated with the Astra Soccer Academy, came to Mendota with a vision for an outdoor/indoor soccer facility in the Mendota Business Park off I-39, saying, “Mendota is a goldmine of soccer.”

The vision was to build this complex to host leagues, tournaments, camps and more, which Medina said would bring thousands of people to Mendota for these events and in turn generate revenue for Mendota-area businesses. However, Medina said city leaders dropped the ball and Raketic and investors in the project have lost interest in locating in Mendota and have reportedly turned their attention to Princeton for the soccer complex.

Mayor David Boelk said he met with Raketic last year at the Mendota Business Park and gave his blessing to the proposal. Boelk said he asked Raketic to present a business plan from the investors, but he never received one. “The city had the land and we were all for it,” Boelk said.

Then, communication between the city and Raketic broke down when Raketic said he never received multiple emails from the city. So Raketic decided to turn his attention to Princeton.

Former Mendota High School and current Rock Valley College football player Naitzy Garcia said, “The doors were closed. Why aren’t we working on getting them open again?”

Another attendee at the meeting said, “If we can change Gordon’s mind, can we move forward?”

Boelk answered ‘yes’ to that question and added: ‘I think the idea of ​​the sports complex is great.’

ALDERMANIC REPORTS

Councilman Jim Fitzpatrick put forward a request from Reimagine Mendota and the Hispanic Partnership Council to hold “Amigo Fest” in downtown Mendota on Saturday, September 21. The event would require the closure of the 700 and 800 blocks of Illinois Avenue, which the council approved. That section of Illinois Avenue would likely be closed for most of the day and well into the evening.

Following Alderman John Holland’s report, the council approved a recommendation from the Mendota Historic Restoration and Preservation Commission for a $7,000 Certificate of Eligibility grant to the owners of the property at 701 Illinois Ave. for facade improvements. In a related matter, the council approved a recommendation from the Revolving Loan Fund Committee for a $15,000 loan to the owners of 701 Illinois Ave., repayable over five years at 5 percent interest.

The council also passed a resolution from the Netherlands in support of an application for a Downtown & Main Street Capital Grant.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Mendota City Council is Monday, July 15 at 5:30 p.m.