CALIFORNIA, Md. — St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks hosted a public meeting last Wednesday in Leonardtown. More than 100 local citizens attended, with about 30 voicing their opinions. St. Andrews Church Road could become even more congested with the proposed sports complex that would take up nearly 267 total acres in California, Maryland.
Representatives from Manns Woodward Studios, an architecture and design firm in White Marsh, Maryland; Ballparchitecture; and the Maryland Stadium Authority were present to answer questions.
The public impact meeting, as well as a community poll, are on the Recreation and Parks website. The next public hearing will take place in the spring. For more information, contact Recreation and Parks Project Manager Christina Bishop at christina.bishop@stmaryscountymd.gov.
The proposed complex would consist of nearly 36 acres of outdoor space for 10 “quality” fields with turf as needed. Bishop stated that, with the wooded area being so close to the St. Mary’s River, all precautions will be taken and the Maryland Department of the Environment will conduct all necessary surveys.
Community members expressed concerns about the high-traffic area, requesting a traffic light study. All preliminary procedures are outlined in the proposed plan.
“This is the first step,” Bishop said at the meeting. “This will be ongoing before any decision-making.”
Bishop also recognized the newly hired director of Recreation and Parks, Raymond Bivens, who has been involved in local sports for quite some time. To contact Bivens, email raymond.bivens@stmaryscountymd.gov.
Some county residents stated that it’s an exciting time for sports and that student-athletes, coaches and travel teams desperately need this complex. They noted that turf fields make games go faster and give athletes an advantage when playing against teams from northern regions that have had access to upscale arenas for much longer.
Pickleball was mentioned as one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation. Nearly 1,500 county residents are currently playing and are using the app TeamReach to log in and schedule times to play. There is currently only one indoor court, just off Willows Road, that can be booked through the St. Mary’s Gymnastics Center.
Lisa Berry of Lexington Park agrees with Eli, a county player, that she has met more friends with her paddle than with her cell phone.
“I have met more people playing pickleball than anything else in my life,” Berry said. “I’ve played softball, soccer and volleyball. I can’t even measure the number of people I’ve met. You may not see them for six months, and they still remember you. I’ve played with a 10-year-old, and I’ve played with a 92-year-old—he’s still getting medals. It’s amazing.”
Berry said she played in Calvert County with former Sheriff Mike Evans.
“He was a challenge out there and definitely commanded the court when he was on it,” she said.
“We play year-round. We do play through the winter.”
Berry is in favor of the sports complex and isn’t concerned with the logistics.
“They’ll make sure everything’s taken care of,” she said.
Berry is looking forward to playing alongside her favorite partner, Lucinda Rothwell of Southern Maryland.
“She’s in her 70s and is a great player,” Berry said.
It was mentioned at the meeting by Alex Smolen, who designs his own paddleboards, that Chopticon High School now has 72 student-athletes interested in the growing sport.
Southern Maryland Pickleball has 1,500 members on its Facebook page.
It’s been noted on the site that St. Mary’s Ryken will have open courts on Saturdays this month.
At the public hearing, sports such as futsal, roller derby, roller skating, ice hockey and figure skating were mentioned by community members. For ice hockey and figure skating, parents are driving their children to Waldorf, Tucker Road and beyond for two-hour practices.
The proposed complex is not offering ice rinks at this time because it hasn’t gained as much interest as other sports.
To voice your opinion and fill out a survey, please visit the Recreation and Parks website at stmaryscountymd.gov/Recreate/; the public input survey is located at the top right of the page.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
Area is too congested with too many accidents with zero law enforcement
So, just abandon Chancellor’s Run? St. Andrew’s Church road would need extensive widening from 235 to 5, which would then require several new traffic lights, stormwater management, utility relocation, sidewalks, and other improvements. Who is going to pay for that?
How about a nice VIR style race track? Give enthusiasts a place to play other than the streets. And bring in big $$
How about investing in sidewalks so people can walk safely? I’ve never been anywhere with so many sidewalks that just end for no apparent reason.
Really smart to build a large attraction to which a large % of users would have to go thru the County’s worst, overused, intersection and travel on a already heavily overused road. I’m sure a new traffic light would be involved …. which would probably not have current sensors to operate per actual traffic flow just like the latest new light in Leonardtown or the ‘John Bohanan’ light at Wildwood Parkway and Rt 4 . You know the state isn’t going to upgrade the infrastructure at the intersection nor Rt 4.
Take care of Leanardtown HS field instead and make your plans on the old fairground. Good for HS, good for town. Solomons even better. They wanted to put a shipping port in there last time.