Jon Smith, a builder and former Gorham School Committee member, bought the Gorham Sports Center last Thursday at a foreclosure auction with a winning bid of $1,005,000.

“Get it singing as quickly as possible,” Smith said when asked about plans for the dome structure.

The sports center, at 215 Narragansett St., closed last month due to financial problems. Opened in 2004, it has artificial turf and served a variety of sports and regional youth teams. Smith bid $5,000 more than owners of the Portland Sports Center, who bid $1 million.

The Southern Maine Community Recreation Center, a nonprofit group, plans to lease it from Smith, with an option to buy.

“We’re hoping to have it open by March 1,” said Adam Sturtevant, a spokesman for the group.

Smith and his wife, Cindy, are parents of five children. “They played here,” Jon Smith said.

(winning bidder) Auctioneer Thomas Saturley of Tranzon Auction congratulates Jon Smith of Gorham after Smith acquired Gorham Sports Center Thursday with a $1,005,000 bid. ((Gorham Sports Center 1)