After several setbacks, Woodbury’s Bielenberg Sports Center is bouncing back.

The city council cleared the way Wednesday to look for two new tenants for the center after proposals for a restaurant and a soccer team headquarters fell through in the past year.

Both proposals had been tied up with legal problems, but now the city can proceed with filling empty space in the $22 million Field House.

“I am optimistic about both of those,” said Bob Klatt, the city’s parks and recreation director.

In addition, two other add-ons should be completed this summer — a splash pad and a handicapped-accessible playground, which Klatt predicts will be “a big success story.”

The organizers of the $830,000 Madison’s Place playground still must raise an additional $130,000, but Klatt expects it to open in August.

Helping to clear the way for the search for new tenants was the city council’s approval Wednesday of an agreement with Gartner Restaurant Holding in which both sides agreed not to sue each other.

In 2013, the Stillwater-based company proposed a $1.3 million, second-floor restaurant in the Field House and, Klatt said, to give the city 10 percent of its gross revenue instead of paying rent.

But last year, the city and Gartner filed lawsuits accusing each other of failing to meet the lease agreement. The company pulled out of the project.

The settlement enables the city to find a new restaurant developer to run a first-floor concessions stand and a second-floor restaurant.

Another pull-out involved the Minnesota United FC soccer team, which had agreed to become a tenant in the Field House and spent $975,000 to alter the building to its needs. But in November, it backed out, saying the facility didn’t offer enough room.

The city council voted Wednesday to end the contract with the team.

Klatt said the city has several promising leads for renters of the space.

He said the setbacks with Gartner and Minnesota United don’t pose a financial problem because expected income from the two tenants was not included in original financial projections.

“We were looking at them as enhancements,” Klatt said.

This year, revenue generated by the sports center should be about $1.6 million, he said, adding that its costs will be roughly the same — operating expenses of about $1.2 million and mortgage payments of about $400,000.

The sports center is financially stable because it is almost continuously booked, Klatt said. Athletic clubs and local high schools are the biggest customers.

The splash pad, next to the Field House, will have a grand opening June 6. It will be operating 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Next to the splash pad will be the playground. Supporters have raised about $700,000 for the project, but they are still $130,000 short of their goal.

“They are still working very hard to raise money,” Klatt said.

Organizer Dana Millington said in an email that the equipment for the playground has been ordered and will be installed in August. She said she hopes to open it then.

If the remaining money isn’t raised by August, the playground will remain closed until it is.

Until 2013, the sports center consisted of an inflatable “bubble” covering a field of artificial turf beside two indoor ice-skating rinks — all built for $6.8 million in 1995.

The $22 million Field House opened last fall. With twice the playing area of the original bubble, it houses the largest indoor playing field in the state. Part of the project was the addition of a refrigerated outdoor skating rink.

It is surrounded by a complex of 36 athletic fields, which it shares with East Ridge High School.

Bob Shaw can be reached at 651-228-5433. Follow him at twitter.com/BshawPP.