A door to the Topsham sports dome pokes out from the snow after the dome collapsed under weight of snow and ice on Thursday, Jan. 26. Directors of the indoor sports facility said the inflatable structure is “irreparable.” (Staff photo by Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Brianna Soukup / Portland Press Herald

Six Rivers Youth Sports announced Wednesday that it has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy the former sports dome site in Topsham, the organization announced in a news release.

The dome collapsed in January during a heavy snowstorm. The purchase will add a 5.4-acre lot and full-size outdoor turf field to the existing 7.4-acre lot and building that Six Rivers Youth Sports purchased at 20 Atwood Road in Topsham in December 2021. The existing facility is operated by Six Rivers Youth Sports as an indoor turf field used by more than 400 school-aged kids each week from over a dozen recreational groups and athletic teams. Plans are also in place to build an NHL-size ice arena on the site.

Six Rivers Youth Sports will remove the fallen dome and make the turf field available to community groups prior to the fall sports season.

“Six Rivers Youth Sports is thrilled to have this opportunity,” said Chelsea Bickford, project manager for Six Rivers Youth Sports. “The additional acreage will create new ways to partner with local groups interested in redeveloping this land to help meet the growing demand for recreational space that nurtures wellbeing and benefits our youth and all community members. There is a real need to provide facilities for our youth to be active, especially to promote physical and mental health.”

Six Rivers Youth Sports formed as a nonprofit in 2021 with a focus on providing a new ice arena to meet the severe shortage of ice time for area school and recreational hockey teams as well as the local figure skating community and public ice skating. The mission has expanded to meet the need and create opportunity for virtually every type of active sports and recreation in the region. Six Rivers Youth Sports serves 15 communities from Freeport to Richmond and from Lisbon to Woolwich and beyond.

Thanks to donations, Six Rivers Youth Sports will be able to purchase the dome lot debt free. Six Rivers Youth Sports will continue fundraising for the ice arena and enhancements to the existing facility and campus including renovated restrooms, energy efficiency and improved parking. Planned improvements will enable expanded use by groups that are currently limited in accessing the facilities.

Plans are in the works to open the ice arena in the fall of 2025 and $1.3M has been raised to date, but the need for more fundraising is still significant. Contributions can be made through sixriversyouthsports.org or by contacting Bickford at cbickford@sixriversyouthsports.org.