June 15, 2015 at 3:47 p.m.
Rhinelander Soccer Club dedicates new shelter
Rhinelander Soccer Club dedicates new shelter
What started as an idea between a couple of soccer parents in 2009 became a reality thanks to plenty of legwork and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of monetary and in-kind donations as the club continues to transform what was once merely a buffer for the Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport into a gathering spot for the community.
"I have to pinch myself," said Katy Dyreby, who helped to spearhead the project. "I don't know how many nights I lost sleep worrying about this."
The building is well-built, but not elaborate.
"No frills," said shelter fundraising committee member Leah Van Zile. "We wanted it to be solid. That's going to be a legacy we can leave well beyond when we're going."
More importantly the building meets several essential needs for the club - namely dedicated areas for concessions and storage, shelter in case of inclement weather and bathrooms with indoor plumbing.
The latter was of utmost importance for the club, which had to rely on temporary means prior to erecting the shelter.
"(A) number of people I've heard, even just through the (the club's) rec(reational) program (say), 'You mean we don't have to use the porta-potties anymore?" said RSC president Julie McGuire.
"The bathrooms, for many, is a huge accomplishment - having indoor facilties," Van Zile added.
Though the shelter has been open and functional since the start of the spring, Sunday's ceremony was the culmination of years of hard work and donations. Van Zile said it was fitting to have the dedication on a night that coincided with recreational soccer because that level represents the roots of the club.
"Those are really the people that for eight weeks or more are out here using the bathrooms, seeing the facility and it's also our feeder program for our high school," Van Zile said. "That's where we're encouraging the kids to learn about soccer, love soccer and hopefully develop into the competitive team as they get a little bit older and into the high school team."
Several of the project's donors were on hand for Sunday's dedication, as well as many soccer families. Dyreby spoke briefly before handing the mic over to former Rhinelander Soccer Club president Mark Dolenshek, who was with the club during the formative years of the Hanson Lake Soccer Complex.
"(After the fields were constructed) we didn't have really a penny left over for irrigation or certainly this structure," he said. "So then the next generation of leadership came in and through their exhaustive efforts, we have irrigation and now, finally this terrific structure that we're celebrating today. My congratulations to all that made this possible, particularly Katy Dyreby and others."
Daryl Dean volunteered his services as the architect of the building. He said he and Rhinelander High School soccer coach Dan Millot dreamt of a building like this at Hanson Lake well before the capital campaign began and Sunday marked a major milestone.
"This has been a long and, for me, an enjoyable process," he said. "But it took a long time. Today, seeing all the contributions that were made and the success of the numbers in the program, it's amazing. It's kind of cool to see the new leadership in the program and I just want to say, it's heartfelt that it's gotten this far and there's still a long way to go, so thank you."
The project
Dyreby said she was walking off the fields with fellow soccer parent Dan Tvedten at Hanson Lake in 2009 when the idea really took hold.
"Were walking off the field and we said, 'Well, why don't we have a shelter out here? We can do this,'" she said.
That turned out to be easier said than done. Money poured in early during the capital campaign, highlighted by a $50,000 donation from Northland Orthopedic Associates. Dean, who had kids go through the Rhinelander soccer program, offered designs for the shelter. Everything was coming together until roughly two years into the campaign when donations slowed to a trickle. As a result, the project did too as the club vowed not to take on debt to finance it.
"It just got a little frustrating, you know, as the money slowed down coming in," Dyreby said.
Then Dyreby's husband, Dr. Jim Dyreby, was injured in a water-skiing accident. That proved to be a blessing in disguise.
"That was the break that we needed," Katy Dyreby said, pun intended. "He was off work and sat home and he wrote letter after letter to all his friends and colleagues, asking for $1,000 gifts. There was just this outpouring of love and support and the money started coming in and it was like a shot of adrenaline in our veins."
The club had enough money to break ground on the site in 2012, lay the foundation in 2013 and finish the structure last fall.
All told the project was five-plus years in the making. The club raised more roughly $275,000 and received several in-kind donations to make the vision a reality.
"Katy and Dr. Dyreby, their passion and drive to see this through for that many years is so admirable," Van Zile said, adding the Dyrebys were, "the glue that held it all together."
"It just goes to show you the kind of quality people we have in the community and that they are and all the contractors that have helped out - it just really speaks really highly of the Northwoods," Van Zile added.
A work in progress
Though the shelter is operational, there are still projects that can be done to put the finishing touches on the facility. For starters, some landscaping and excavation work is still required to improve drainage and runoff near the building. Currently the building is accessed from a small dirt path off Air Park Road. A full-fledged driveway with greater parking an accessibility is on the club's wish list. Floors and walls in some areas need to be sealed to create more useable storage space and cabinets and appliances are needed to turn the concession stand into a true food-prep area.
The building is not perfect, but it's far better than what the club had.
"Just being able to have a facility here that has shelter, that has indoor restrooms, running water, a place to have concession stand items has made our work as volunteers a lot easier in some respects," Van Zile said. "When the high school would have their tournaments here, it was a lot of hauling of materials and setting up tents."
"And tents blowing away," McGuire interjected.
Though the club does not have a set dollar amount it's looking to raise to complete the project, Van Zile said the fact that the building is up and running will help in the club's next capital campaign.
"Now that people see it's here, they can say, 'Oh, I can visually see it's here. I know that you've accomplished this, so now I will make another donation,' or maybe, 'My business can help with the driveway,' or whatever it could be," she said. "We hope that this can spur on some more people to be part of the project and the shelter."
Health-conscious concessions
Bratwurst, nachos, candy bars and soda are typical fare around any ballpark, big or small, in Wisconsin. That will not be the case at the Rhinelander Soccer Club's concession stand.
"It's going to be a healthy concession stand with healthy options versus the soda, candy, chips and things you typically see at concessions," McGuire said. "We're having the fruits and the vegetables. We're having healthy hot dogs - as healthy as hot dogs can be - you know, none of the preservatives and things like that. We're buying local. We do burgers and stuff through Bessey's Market and the hot dogs, and a lot of the fruits and vegetables, through Golden Harvest. It's a healthy options menu when we do have tournaments and things like that."
Keystone for the future
The new shelter provides many basic creature comforts for those watching, playing or working games at the Hanson Lake Soccer Complex. It also makes the facility a lot more attractive to clubs outside Rhinelander - a key selling point as the club looks to host more tournaments.
"We see this as kind of maybe a new chapter for the Rhinelander Soccer (Club), because once we move into that hosting tournaments, we'll have more money to make our fields better, which is always a struggle," Van Zile said. "Soccer, it's high cost for the assets that we have because the (maintenance of) field takes a lot. When we go to Appleton or Stevens Point, their fields are a little better than our because they have the funds to invest and maintain those fields."
"It's kind of our way to give back to the community, bringing more people in," McGuire added.
It all started as an idea six summers ago. Now the new shelter at Hanson Lake is part of the bedrock that club officials hope will keep soccer vibrant in Rhinelander for generations to come.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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