Council sets March 3 public hearing on sale of 5172nd Street land, OKs short-term Demon Hawks lease pending insurance

The City Council voted to set a public hearing for March 3, 2026, on the proposed sale of city-owned land beneath a privately owned facility and the adjacent parking lot at 5172nd Street, and approved a short-term use agreement to allow Demon Hawks soccer games through April 30, 2026, provided the team submits required insurance documentation before the end of the business day.

City staff (Speaker 4) summarized the two resolutions before the council: the first establishes the public hearing date; the second authorizes a short-term use agreement with “DM rank partners” to permit Demon Hawks games beginning immediately and running through 04/30/2026, “in exchange for a $1,500 a month user fee.” The staff member told council the city owns roughly 5.915 acres under the building and the adjacent parking lot and said a future sale would be contingent on rezoning and other approvals.

Maria (City staff) said the due diligence period would begin only after council approval following the public hearing and noted that the tract is classified as parkland under city code, which requires the Parks and Recreation Commission to review and report to council. City staff also said the property had been appraised and the buyer agreed to the appraisal figure; staff cited an appraisal of $644,000.

Council members pressed staff for clarity on contract details. One council member said the council letter did not make clear that the $1,500 figure was a monthly fee; staff confirmed the fee is prorated for a partial month and $1,500 for each full month. On alcohol sales, Maria said the usage agreement requires compliance with all laws and that the facility currently holds a limited alcohol license confined to an approved area; any expansion of the licensed area would require a separate application.

Insurance was the decisive condition for council approval. A council member pointed to Section 5(c) of the agreement, which requires Des Moines Rink to provide proof of insurance by Jan. 29; Maria said she had not yet received that documentation and would follow up. After discussion, the council approved the short-term agreement “pending insurance documentation being received prior to close of business today,” a condition included in the motion the council passed.

Council members voted to adopt the resolution setting the 03/03/2026 public hearing (motion by Roosevelt; second by Bode) and to approve the short-term use resolution conditioned on insurance (motion by Rosendahl; second by Bode). Roll-call votes recorded affirmative responses from council members on both measures.

Maria said staff would issue a notice of material default and could pursue an injunction if the team proceeded without required insurance, though she said that would be “very, very messy.” Staff also committed to meeting with the team’s representatives after a couple of games to review operational and neighborhood impacts and to report back to council.

The council briefly confirmed that rent proceeds from the short-term agreement would flow into the general fund, asked staff to request event attendance estimates from the team for neighborhood planning, and heard that budget books would be distributed imminently. The meeting adjourned.