(KNSI) – St. Cloud has discussed potentially buying Selke Field but doesn’t know if it wants or can afford the space.
In March, St. Cloud State University announced it was selling the 16.28-acre parcel, which has an appraised value of $290,000. The land is zoned R-2, which means it can be used for single-family and two-family residential homes, a park or green space.
Mayor Jake Anderson told KNSI the city has talked about it internally in terms of it being available to purchase and what kind of funds we could use to buy it, but explained. “There’s some concerns with purchasing it. The wall itself is a potential maintenance issue in terms of what you do with that. I know there’s some nonprofits that are interested in terms of remaining athletic fields.”
He says that’s not the biggest obstacle. “My biggest concern is we have a lot of parkland as a city. We have 100 parks. We have Clark Field, for which we are still developing a plan, and that will require investment. So is it fiscally responsible to purchase? And that’s still what we’re going through.”
Selke Field was established in 1937 and named in 1946 after George Selke, the university’s longest-serving president. A press release from the school says the facility is recognized for its historic granite walls, constructed by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. It hosted football games until 2004, when Husky Stadium was built. The property was most recently used as the home field for the university’s softball team, which has since relocated all home games to Husky Stadium on campus.
For more information or to submit a purchase offer, interested parties can contact Paul Harrington, Director of Real Estate Services for Minnesota State, at paul.harrington@minnstate.edu.
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