Owners plan to reopen collapsed Aurora-area sports dome

Owners of an Aurora-area sports dome that collapsed during Monday's sleet storm plan to rebuild and reopen.

"Past history dictates that it takes months, and especially in winter it's always more difficult because of the bad weather," said Tom Clifford, co-owner of Sports Zone Park at 1900 Hill Ave. near Aurora in unincorporated Kendall County.

"We'll do what it takes to expedite this type of rebuild and reconstruction," he said.

County building and planning officials said Clifford will have to apply for a new building permit.

This is the third time the dome at the athletic complex has collapsed since 1997, Clifford said.

It collapsed just after 3 p.m., authorities said.

Monday's storm reminded Clifford of the last time the 75-foot-tall dome fell in 1999.

"With all that sleet coming in at such a ferocious pace from the west, we could see the kind of weight that was being put on the west side of the building," he said.

"All you can do is make sure the dome has optimum pressure and then blast the heat to full capacity because you want to melt off that debris," he said.

Clifford said he had canceled a soccer tournament scheduled for that day because of weather and the condition of the dome.

Initially, Clifford was in the dome with his wife and a maintenance worker to monitor the pressure and the heat.

Just before it collapsed, Clifford's oldest son brought some of the players from a baseball team he coaches inside to play catch.

Clifford said he left to go pick up his daughter from work around 3 p.m. but got a phone call alerting him to the dome's collapse.

Everyone inside made it out safely, and no injuries were reported.

Everyone took shelter under an adjacent deck when the dome collapsed, Clifford said.

Leagues that play in the dome will have to find alternate facilities this winter, Clifford said. "To get this up this winter and facilitate all these soccer teams is just improbable," he said.

"But Kendall County has always been great in the 26 years I've been here, so I'm just looking forward to getting the process started," he said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Justin Kmitch contributed to this report.