The City of Janesville will soon have to start making formal decisions on a potential indoor sports complex.

City leaders are negotiating a purchase agreement with RockStep Capital, the company that owns the former Janesville Mall, now called Uptown Janesville.

RockStep President Andy Weiner said his company will agree to sell the former Sears building and parking lot area to the city for one dollar to facilitate the project.

He also expects the city council to vote later this month on whether to approve funding to pay for the formal design work on the facility, an investment of public dollars that would signal further commitment to the project.

Last month, the fundraising group Friends of the Indoor Sports Complex announced nearly $4 million in private sponsorships secured for the project so far.

Uptown Janesville is interested in pairing the indoor sports complex with a separate private development of an indoor amusement center with activities like go-karts, laser tag and virtual reality in the former Boston Store space.