Rugby. Ultimate frisbee. Flag football. Lacrosse. Peru’s vision is to offer a vast sports complex that would draw competitors from four hours away.

But it won’t happen in 2026. The designs the Peru City Council looked at on Monday are a first draft and there are two big X factors: Where to put it and, by extension, how much to invest in the land the city will need to develop it.

“We’re looking to really create a destination point and be transformational,” city engineer Eric Carls said.

The first-draft design shows room for multiple ball fields and playing surfaces with adjacent room for residential development and, maybe, an aquatic center.

And anyone worried about a big spike in their tax bill can rest easy. The city is a long, long way from breaking ground. The project would almost certainly be completed in phases.

“That’s why we’re currently still looking at potential private, public partnership in it all,” Carls said. “It wasn’t something that we went into thinking that the city could handle 100% on its own.”

But a feasibility study has shown the city can support a sports complex, not least because of its proximity to Interstates 80 and 39.

One location being considered is the area north of the Peru Police Department, though the city doesn’t own land there. The city does own property at Veterans Park and north of I-80.

“I think determining what property it would be located on is probably the next step,” Carls said.

The designs submitted show a projected cost of $28 million for the outdoor sports complex but Carls emphasized the costs are fluid and hinge on obtaining a private partnership – and the city has some preliminary interest.

“If it’s not feasible from a land acquisition standpoint,” he said, “we certainly can pivot.”