Illinois Youth Soccer Association’s plans to build a new headquarters and training facility in Elgin, the centerpiece of which will be a 118,000-square-foot air dome, won Elgin City Council approval Wednesday night.

Development group Midwest Sports Center is partnering with the association on the facility, which is to be constructed on 9.7 acres at 909 S. McLean Blvd. that was once a mobile home trailer park.

The air-supported structure will be the first of its kind in the country, the developers said.

“It is one more venue that will bring more activity and more people to our city,” Councilman Steve Thoren said at the meeting. “It should be an excellent complement to the (Elgin) sports complex as well.”

The proposal calls for an 18,000-square-foot building with offices, classrooms, physical therapy rooms and concessions. An outdoor field will have artificial turf while the indoor field will be covered by a 78-foot-tall dome.

Ian McCormick, an expert in the field of air dome construction for 17 years, told the council that the structure — nicknamed “the bubble” by some — is made of fabric.

“It’s anchored to a concrete system around the perimeter that is pressurized on the interior, so it’s inflated,” McCormick said.

A standby generator will keep the dome pressurized should there be a power outage, he said.

In response to a question from Councilman Anthony Ortiz, McCormick said the dome won’t be affected by heavy snowfall. The geometrical shape allows it to “shed” any snow rather than accumulating it on the surface, he said.

The dome also has wind and snow sensors that anticipate and adjust conditions when there’s bad weather, according to city documents.

When built, the soccer association’s tournaments at the facility will be a financial boon to the city because they will bring in youth players and their families from outside the area, officials said. They also hope to work with the city of Elgin’s Parks and Recreation Department on programming and to bring in events for other sports, including pickleball, cricket and flag football.

Midwest Sports Center officials also told the council they plan to apply for a liquor license at a future date when they expand their services.

The project requires variances from city code for on-site parking and landscaping.

While the proposed facility is not in compliance with city code on the number of parking spots available, the center has been given permission to use the neighboring Elgin Moose Lodge No. 799 parking lot during peak hours or when tournaments are being held, officials said.

If insufficient parking becomes an issue, the association will consider scheduling games at different times to reduce traffic volumes, said Tom Swedrowski, a member of Midwest Sports Center’s development team.

“I think we got it pretty much covered,” Swedrowski said.

While the venue might cause congestion at times, city officials acknowledged the additional traffic will help local businesses.

“We’re looking at this as a great catalyst to those commercial places across the street,” Elgin Community Development Director Marc Mylott said.

The council also agreed to a variance in landscaping requirements for the project. City code requires developers to replace a certain number of trees removed for construction. Midwest Sports Center doesn’t have that ability because it’s using most of the site for the sports fields, Mylott said.

In all, they will be removing 1,052 trees on the property, preserving 17 and planting 134 new ones, he said.

Swedrowski said Midwest Sports Center chose Elgin for its headquarters and facilities because it’s is more centrally located for tournaments than the current Loves Park location near Rockford. The location also will allow them to recruit players from surrounding areas, he said.

The council was generally enthusiastic about the association making Elgin its new home.

“Welcome. Congratulations, and I’m really looking forward to this,” Councilwoman Rose Martinez said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.