What does FiRST stand for?

FiRST stands for First Responder Skills Training Center.

Who will use the facility?

Lakeville Police and Fire will use the center, along with other police, fire, and EMS agencies from the south metro and nearby communities.

Is the FiRST Center open to the public?

The larger facility is designed primarily for public safety agencies. Lakeville’s website currently lists the 25-yard range as open to the public, but the center’s broader public access rules should be confirmed before publication.

How much did the project cost?

The total project cost is listed at about $25.8 million. State and federal funding provided nearly $8 million toward the project.

When does training begin?

The FiRST Center announcement says official training begins September first. The city website also references a soft opening in July 2026.

Lakeville FiRST Center Opens for Regional Training

Q: Where is the FiRST Center?

It is located at 7777 214th Street West in Lakeville’s Airlake Industrial Park.

TLDR

Lakeville’s new FiRST Center is designed for police, fire, and EMS training across the south metro.
The roughly 40,000-square-foot facility includes live-fire ranges, classrooms, virtual reality, and realistic scenario spaces.
The center sits on the city’s former Public Works site in Airlake Industrial Park.
The project cost about $25.8 million, with state and federal funding helping cover the cost.
Training reservations are opening for public safety agencies.

Lakeville is becoming home to a new regional training center for the people who respond when emergencies happen.

The FiRST Center, short for First Responder Skills Training Center, is a purpose-built facility for police, fire, and EMS agencies. It gives departments a permanent place to train instead of using schools, businesses, or temporary sites.

The center is located at 7777 214th Street West in Lakeville’s Airlake Industrial Park. It was built on the site of the city’s former Public Works facility.

A Training Center Built for Real Scenarios

The FiRST Center is designed to make training feel more like the situations first responders may face on the job.

The building includes a two-story reality-based training area with movable walls. Those walls can be rearranged to simulate homes, businesses, and other indoor spaces.

The training areas can also use different lighting, sound, and smoke effects. That allows police, firefighters, and EMS teams to practice making decisions under pressure.

The center also includes virtual reality training, a defensive tactics room, classrooms, and spaces for specialized fire and rescue drills. The largest classroom can hold up to 114 people. The City of Lakeville lists the facility’s training spaces and rental details here.

Two Indoor Shooting Ranges

The FiRST Center includes two indoor shooting ranges.

The larger range has 12 lanes and stretches 50 yards. It also includes a drive-in bay so agencies can practice vehicle-based scenarios with squad cars.

A second range has six lanes and stretches 25 yards. It is designed for routine skills practice and police qualification training.

Lakeville’s current facility page says the 25-yard range is open to the public, while the larger center is built mainly for public safety agencies. That access information should be confirmed before publication because the FiRST Center’s opening announcement describes the facility as an agency training center. See the city’s current FiRST Center information.

A Regional Facility, Not Just a Lakeville Project

Lakeville Police and Fire will be primary users, but the center was designed to serve departments across the region.

Project materials identify partner agencies and jurisdictions including Burnsville, Apple Valley, Farmington, Northfield, Eagan, Rosemount, and Dakota County.

That regional setup matters because many agencies currently have to piece together training wherever they can find space. A permanent center allows departments to train more often, maintain certifications, and practice together.

The city says the center is the first facility of its kind in the south metro area. Lakeville’s grand-opening announcement describes the center as a regional training facility for police, fire, and medical response teams.

A $25.8 Million Public-Safety Investment

The overall project cost is listed at about $25.8 million.

The project received approximately $7.1 million from the Minnesota Legislature through a 2023 capital investment bill. It also received $800,000 in federal Congressionally Directed Spending.

The remaining construction cost is being covered through city financing and general obligation bonds. The facility’s ongoing operating costs are expected to come from membership fees paid by participating agencies.

The city has described the project as both a public-safety investment and a redevelopment project. It turned a former Public Works site into a new regional campus.

When Does the FiRST Center Open?

The FiRST Center’s official announcement says the center will open for training on September first, with agency reservations available.

However, Lakeville’s current website lists a soft opening in July 2026. That may mean the facility is already being used in a limited way before the broader training launch.

Before publishing, it would be worth confirming whether September first is the official grand opening, the first full reservation date, or the date when general agency use begins.

The Bottom Line

The FiRST Center gives Lakeville and nearby communities a permanent place for first responders to train together.

For residents, the biggest benefit may not be something you see every day. It’s the idea that police officers, firefighters, and EMS teams can practice realistic situations in a controlled setting before they have to handle those situations in real life.

Lakeville has also been growing quickly, with major development continuing across the city. The FiRST Center is one of the city’s larger public-safety investments as that growth continues. We’ve covered other major Lakeville development projects here.