DEVILS LAKE — Instead of hockey pucks and ice skates, Quentin N. Burdick Sports Arena was home to sticky tabs and more than two dozen community members Thursday night.

The Devils Lake Park Board held a community forum at the rink on July 28. The forum provided an opportunity for community members and the Devils Lake Park Board to voice their opinions on future facilities and activities that could be incorporated into a family entertainment center.

Potential renovations to the 30,000+ square foot former Leevers Foods location near Frontage Road could help create the family entertainment hub. After 60.91% of votes in North Dakota’s 2022 primary election voted in favor of a sales tax increase, financial generation potentially in excess of $400,000 per year could help bring such an idea to fruition.

According to Devils Lake Park Board Vice Chairman Kale Stromme, the July 28 forum was a preliminary first step in gauging what the community potentially wants from such a facility.

“Well, this is all going to take time,” Stromme said after the meeting. “We have a sales tax committee that we try to meet with as often as possible, but everything is in flux. You have the [Devils Lake] The park board probably makes the final decision, but we try to gauge what the community wants through the sales tax committee, which has people from all areas of the city…so we try to involve someone from all areas of the community. so they can hit their hoops and stuff like that.

After a brief presentation by Stromme, community members “voted” on potential ideas through sticky tabs colored green, orange, and yellow, signifying their first, second, and third choices, respectively. Popular options included an indoor pool, indoor playground, movie theater, and bowling alley.

“Well, the most important thing is that we really want the community to come out and tell us what they think the needs of the community are,” Stromme said. “So that’s why we have these signs here, where people can vote for their favorite family activities, whether it’s at the family fun center or for future facilities down the road. We really want feedback.

Stromme will look to receive feedback from more members of the community, including young people, in the future. Additional outreach through social media and future forums will give Stromme a more concrete idea of ​​what might work best for the future family entertainment center.

While the process may just be beginning, Stromme thinks the wheels are starting to turn.

“I think we’re going to continue that contribution, whether it’s through social media with Facebook or whatever,” Stromme said. “We want to do ‘Back to School Night’ stuff where we can kind of get a good sense of what young people really want to see in the community too, so that’s the other aspect, I guess.”

John Crane is a sports/general reporter for the Devils Lake Journal. Feel free to reach out to John by work phone (701-922-1372), cell phone (701-230-4339), email ([email protected]) or Twitter (@johncranesports) with story ideas. .