LEONARDTOWN, Md. — The full version of St. Mary’s County’s proposed sports complex likely cannot be built at the county-owned site along St. Andrews Church Road because of environmental and infrastructure constraints, the county’s Recreation and Parks director told an advisory board Thursday.
Ray Bivens discussed the future of the project during the Aug. 6 meeting of the St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks Citizens Advisory Board, providing additional context after county commissioners were presented with the preliminary design last month.
The sports complex proposal has been under discussion for several years and was most recently presented to the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County in July. The concept calls for a phased indoor and outdoor tournament complex intended to address local demand for athletic facilities while also attracting sports tourism and overnight visitors to the county.
“I don’t think you’ll ever be able to build out what’s shown there on that site from an environmental standpoint,” Bivens said.
The statement came as board members questioned whether the project was still moving forward.
“There is no further money right now,” Bivens said when asked whether anyone was seriously considering advancing the proposal.
The preliminary design envisions the complex being constructed in three phases, with outdoor multipurpose fields, baseball and softball diamonds, pickleball courts, parking and a large indoor sports facility.
The proposal includes a 175,000-square-foot-plus indoor events center, eight multipurpose tournament fields, eight baseball and softball diamonds and 12 outdoor pickleball courts. The indoor facility could accommodate eight full-sized basketball courts, 16 volleyball courts, 30 pickleball courts and two multipurpose courts for sports such as box lacrosse and indoor soccer.
Bivens stressed that the concept was not developed with the expectation that the county would simply pay for the entire project at once.
“I don’t think there’s any intention that the county would write a check or anything like that for that amount,” Bivens said.
He said the complex could potentially be constructed in phases, scaled back or adapted in another form.
Site Conditions Drive Up Costs
The proposed site is already owned by St. Mary’s County, eliminating the need to purchase land, but studies completed during the preliminary design process identified significant challenges.
Bivens said roughly $60 million in the concept is tied to site improvements such as stormwater facilities and retaining walls. An approximately $20 million bridge would also be needed to reach the third phase of the development.
“Before you ever touch a recreational amenity, your expenses go quite high,” Bivens said.
Approximately 85% of the property is forested, while about 35% is affected by wetlands, streams, flood zones and associated buffers. The St. Mary’s River also runs through the property and separates portions of the proposed development area.
The preliminary report also recommends additional archaeological and environmental studies if the project advances.
About one-third of the study area was classified as having high archaeological sensitivity, while another 29% was considered moderately sensitive. The site also includes sensitive species review areas requiring additional coordination with state and federal agencies.
Bivens said further study would need to come before additional planning.
“You don’t want to do any more planning until you know what you have underneath the ground and the native species and things like that,” he said.
Traffic, parking and utilities present additional hurdles.
The preliminary design would require nearly 1,600 parking spaces, although the report warns there may not be enough room to provide all of them without further disturbing environmentally sensitive areas or adding significant infrastructure.
A preliminary traffic study also found improvements could be necessary at Route 4 and St. Andrews Lane and at Route 4 and Indian Bridge Road. Potential solutions include traffic signals or roundabouts.
The property is not currently connected to public water and sewer. The report states the nearest MetCom lines appear to be several thousand feet away and that extending public utilities to the site may not be feasible.
County Could Scale Back Plan Or Look Elsewhere
Despite the challenges, Bivens said the planning work still has value even if the complete complex is never constructed at the current site.
The study helped establish the type and number of facilities officials believe would be needed to serve local athletes while also attracting regional tournaments.
Bivens described the design as “somewhat portable,” suggesting pieces of the concept could potentially be adapted elsewhere.
He also said the county could ultimately develop only part of the current site.
“Maybe in the end, we only end with something in the first third of the property,” Bivens said. “I’m not sure where the future kind of takes us.”
Recreation and Parks is also looking at other ways to address the county’s need for additional athletic space.
Bivens said the department is discussing public-private partnerships involving fields at other locations and had recently visited a property that could potentially be leased to the county at a low cost.
“There’s no doubt we need more field space just for our own county kind of needs, especially in the practice realm,” Bivens said.
If the sports complex concept does move forward in some form, Bivens said the county will need to resolve two major questions at the same time: where it should go and how it would be paid for.
“I think if this does move anywhere, that the funding strategy is just as important as the location,” Bivens said.
Watch the full meeting below:
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What we need in St Mary’s county is a buffet!
With all the concerns about the GMAC swim team being pushed out of the now YMCA GReat Mills pool, why not consider building a swimming center with a large enough pool to meet the requirements of swim teams, public non competition swimmers? Locate it in a more centralized location in the county? We have enough ball fields, soccer pitches, and basketball courts.