Epilogue: A big idea to kick around

Andrew Ferguson already is thinking big.

While showing a reporter the Bison Sports Arena -- he was hired recently as its manager and plans to devote much of the arena to indoor soccer -- Ferguson pointed out that the facility owns 2 1/2 acres next door that could be used for expansion.

That may sound like bravado or naivete, but if anybody has the credentials to back it up, it's Ferguson.

He was a 20-year-old junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992 when he and his brother, Glen, convinced the State Fair board to let them rent the Coliseum at State Fair Park from October to April, cover its dirt horse arena with artificial turf and put up boards and plexiglass to create the city's first indoor soccer venue.

Ferguson got the idea after competing against teams from Lincoln as a teen at what was then the state's only indoor center in Omaha.

The State Fair venture was an instant success, with 40 teams and 500 players using it daily -- and that grew to nearly 200 teams and more than 2,000 players.

The Pitch, as the center was called, was hosting soccer games from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekends.

But then a plan to bring hockey to Lincoln and transform the State Fair Park Coliseum into a hockey arena forced the Fergusons to close up shop in 1995.

After more than a year out of the business, they came back with plans for their own indoor center at Sixth and Hill streets, just a block from where Bison Arena stands now.

But they weren't the only ones with plans.

Soon, Lincoln had three centers offering indoor soccer on four fields.

Around the same time, the Fergusons also brought a minor league soccer team to town. The Lincoln Brigade lasted just one season and was financially unsuccessful.

By 1998, the Fergusons were out of the indoor soccer business and Lincoln was back to one indoor center, Abbott Sports Complex.

Andrew Ferguson worked for the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department for a few years and most recently sold insurance.

But he always stayed involved with soccer, mostly as a coach.

He coached club teams and also high school boys' teams at Lincoln Southwest and Lincoln North Star.

It's been in the last couple of years, though, that he's "been having conversations with lots of people about the situation in Lincoln regarding indoor soccer."

That situation? Only one field at Abbott offers indoor soccer, and for only about five months out of the year.

"One thought led to another, and I put my head back in the game," Ferguson said.

That meant dusting off old business plans, talking to friends who own and operate indoor centers and flying across the country to visit successful centers.

Ferguson said he plans to model Bison after facilities in the St. Louis area and Denver.

That will include a focus on arena sports -- mostly soccer -- but also flag football, lacrosse and possibly indoor baseball and softball.

"We'll just have an environment that is all about soccer and arena sports and having fun," Ferguson said.

Tom Higginson, who owns one of the arenas that Ferguson visited -- as well as 22 others across the country -- says he has no doubts Bison will be successful under Ferguson's management.

"He's got his act together," Higginson said. "I think it's going to be a first-class deal."

The Bison Arena got its start as a roller rink, then a few years ago was converted to a basketball and volleyball facility.

About half the arena is taken up by a volleyball court, the Lincoln training base for Nebraska Elite Volleyball, but a couple of years ago, Bison installed Field Turf in the other half of the arena.

The turf is divided into two small soccer fields, and Bison has hosted limited indoor play in the past year.

Ferguson plans to put up boards this week and turn the area into a single indoor soccer field that will be open year-round.

"We're going to have a great field with great turf," he said. "I think we'll have the best options."

Ferguson said the facility is perfect for year-round indoor sports. It has 30-foot ceilings and is air conditioned.

While he plans to offer several youth leagues and camps and hopes clubs will use the facilities, he wants to cater mainly to adult players.

"Successful facilities focus on adults," he said.

Dan Soltys, executive director of Abbott, said concentrating on that niche might be good for both facilities.

Abbott, by its nature, has its main focus on youth sports, Soltys said, and youth programs get the most access and best times at Abbott's facilities.

Still, during three sessions of indoor soccer this past winter, there were about 180 teams that played in weekend high school and adult leagues.

Plus, "there were a lot of different groups that wanted to form their own leagues that we just had to turn away because there wasn't space," he said.

Soltys is skeptical of whether indoor soccer can be a profit generator year-round.

Historically in Lincoln, he said, there's strong interest only during the coldest months. That's a big reason Abbott over the years converted two of its indoor soccer fields to multipurpose arenas for basketball and volleyball.

"Fiscally, it was tough to make, at one point in time, the three arenas break even, when you only had four months where people were interested in them."

Ferguson isn't sure if the market is big enough for two indoor soccer fields in Lincoln, but he's counting on several factors -- the timing of opening so close on the heels of the World Cup, the "new" factor of the indoor field and the availability to play on several different nights -- to help make Bison successful.

Some longtime adult soccer players say they are excited to have a new choice and are glad Ferguson is back in the indoor soccer business.

"Being a huge fan of the game of soccer, I'm anxious for Andrew Ferguson to take over as manager of the Bison Center," said Mark Purkoski, a longtime soccer player in Lincoln who played at The Pitch. "He will bring with him not only his vast knowledge of the game itself with his past coaching and running of camps, but also the experience of managing other soccer facilities around Lincoln."

Purkoski is looking forward to having more options to play, including the possibility of a league specifically for people over 35.

"At 40 years old, it's hard to play in the current leagues that are available because I just can't keep up with that talent any longer," he said. "In fact, I currently go to Omaha once a week to play in an over-30 league and I love it. But I know there is enough over-30 interest in Lincoln, so I look forward to playing in that league very soon at Bison."

Matt Landis, who played soccer at Lincoln Northeast in the late 1980s and still plays regularly, said he is looking forward to a facility "run by someone who deeply cares about the sport."

"Andrew is a soccer guy who feels driven to bring a soccer mecca to Lincoln," said Landis, 40. "Not only does he want to offer top-notch facilities, he wants to create a social hub around the game."

That "social hub" will include a lounge called the Third Half, where people can hang out, watch soccer and have a beer or two, Ferguson said.

In addition to structured leagues, Ferguson also plans to offer pickup games and lunch hour drop-in sessions.

"I want to do totally different things that have never been done before," he said.

Just as it was 18 years ago, running an indoor soccer venue not only is a business venture for Ferguson, it's a personal mission.

"This is what I love to do," he said. "I just have a very big passion for soccer."

Reach Matt Olberding at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.