[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6364512,"mediaKeyId","2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db","parentId",2164631,"title","Design team previews preliminary plans for proposed St. Mary's County sports complex at St. Andrew's Church Road site","audioSeconds",4747,"startMs",0,"endMs",4747000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db&start=0&end=4747","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db/thumbnail_0.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6364512/St-Marys-County/Maryland/Design-team-previews-preliminary-plans-for-proposed-St-Marys-County-sports-complex-at-St-Andrews-Church-Road-site","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6364512-6ba657738181fcb91efc2bcd82c5d0d4/orig.mp4?Expires=1773283746&Signature=K4aIMPUGvOcBZ9yX2BB-5B5ErI2yI-6ezuzGNO08kD2dvWBYSZKEw5wQO0~jGlRI7nZsc4V637an5HL7bs6A1bhuF8KgCSpk~9oza9rliV7pC4xG0Bu~T42-Yz~qBpXeo7LQ7bKz71-wZQIV~rKDqPK4SDv1p08Rn3WhJVVuHJz7O7v-uZJUNuHP8uJ0KjJOjjvrqItRI6gzf9k3oxfaNng2iBrIVygeQ7lGnI9mi~suJQH2nkAMNupqoksPaVS2CUCQoAMXWo5k73EYzd20~LbKLHmPYfifc3TepxycrJb7ns7vH3F8zqyx0FYfSIIGnd0rAA3t1o22g0pyXh-Rwg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","St. Mary's County, MD","date","2025-01-29T21:48:39Z","article","Designers working for the Maryland Stadium Authority and St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks on Thursday presented preliminary plans for a proposed sports complex on county-owned land off St. Andrew’s Church Road and Johnson Pond Road, saying the program is intended to be an economic driver for the county and southern Maryland.

The project team said the campus concept includes a minimum of about 36 acres for outdoor facilities, an indoor building roughly 100,000 to 130,000 gross square feet, and supporting amenities including concessions, administrative space and parking. \"Simply stated, the project is intended to be an economic driver for this county, the southern Maryland region, and the state of Maryland as a whole,\" Eric Einhorn, design principal of Ballpark Architecture, said during the presentation.

The program presented to the public was based on a market and economic analysis by Crossroads, the consultants said, and envisions 8 to 10 tournament-quality rectangular multipurpose fields (a minimum of four configurable as softball/baseball diamonds), with the majority of fields using turf and supporting field lighting and spectator seating. The indoor facility was described as including a minimum of eight hardwood basketball courts—which could be configured as up to 16 volleyball courts—and flexible flooring so courts could be overlaid with turf to create additional indoor field space.

Project staff said the program is still preliminary. \"Preliminary research and base mapping has been completed,\" project staff said, and added that environmental work, a site survey and traffic analysis are ongoing. A county project manager told the audience the team cannot advance preliminary designs past this phase until the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) completes its review and any required clearances. \"We're not able to move forward until we get MDE's approval for anything,\" the project manager said.

The team identified Manns Woodward Studios and Ballpark Architecture among the lead designers, with MSA (Maryland Stadium Authority) as a project stakeholder and Crossroads as the author of the economic study. The presentation showed the proposed site is wooded, bisected by Johnson's Pond Lane, and bordered to the north by Route 4 and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The designers said they will return to the community with optional layouts after completing the current site analysis and cost estimating.

Organizers also opened a five-question survey to the public to gather input on which sports residents and families currently play, which they would use if new facilities were provided, typical travel distances for tournaments and an optional comment field. The team said presentation materials, the survey link and a recording of the meeting would be posted on the county’s Recreation and Parks communication channels.

Speakers from the project team emphasized standards and permitting expectations: preliminary environmental and archaeological analyses are under way; traffic studies are being prepared; and the project proposal includes a goal of at least \"lead silver\" level green building standards. The project team did not present cost estimates, a funding plan, an operations model, or a construction timeline at this meeting.

Public commentators raised questions about site access, traffic on St. Andrew’s Church Road, preservation of mature trees, stormwater and other environmental impacts, and parking capacity. Project staff said traffic and environmental studies will be part of the ongoing analysis and that operational decisions—who would run the facility and which revenue models would be used—would be determined later if the county moves forward with design and engineering.

Next steps described by the presenters include completing the ongoing environmental and traffic work, developing preliminary design options informed by this public input, producing cost estimates, and returning to the community with those options for stakeholder review.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","1/29/25 St. Mary's County Sports Complex Public Information Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Designers working for the Maryland Stadium Authority and St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks on Thursday presented preliminary plans for a proposed sports complex on county-owned land off St. Andrew’s Church Road and Johnson Pond Road, saying the program is intended to be an economic driver for the county and southern Maryland.","taxTitle","St. Mary's County, Maryland","taxId",51086,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6364502,"Hockey and figure-skating advocates press for ice rink; design team says ice not included in preliminary plan",705,2199000,2904000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db&start=2199&end=2904","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db/thumbnail_2199000.jpg","/articles/6364502/St-Marys-County/Maryland/Hockey-and-figure-skating-advocates-press-for-ice-rink-design-team-says-ice-not-included-in-preliminary-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6364502-84d07f26cda6bedcd00f06be0c572d56/orig.mp4?Expires=1773283746&Signature=RB1M7REWGIjfleNBbfMIeZXr19SRMHU3jCBXE-8UIQ3LfgNqmRUf45Cf2PctEVFvkuo1aoC5NQy211J4aZoKxQqX3SYHp9lQqLrJRJjebGQZzSL4RNmjtQAN74TdL1K-F95b8dbVbkj80TallFQ-wG~uUgiq~sMfyG6ro0qbmVoI32B5wvuIH-FXtFZYXkrqHrgegCbxm~Mq-8I4zNPl2Z6eA4ilR29MxGd4mGBPR5KgBqE8~gnBMLwX00rxBgFHg7ym7kTdGcgoq2-vQpxLNyjCgF9kvQ0oQbb5-jNn6RByJ2Opf5FasniWSWk5J5ePzBzEeX36NPtJgu6AMflXjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Hockey players, figure skaters and parents asked county staff and designers to include ice in the St. Mary’s County sports-complex plans, saying local teams and skaters now travel out of county for ice time.

\"Are there any possibilities for including an ice or roller rink in the design, or is that off the table?\" asked Nick Wright, who spoke for the local hockey community. Multiple other speakers — including youth coaches and parents — described regular travel to rinks in Waldorf, Bowie and other counties for practices and competitions.

Project staff answered that the 2020 market and economic study documented some demand for ice from local user groups but did not support including ice in the sports-tourism‑oriented program presented for this preliminary phase. \"So we didn't include ICE this time, but if the county commissioners in the future want to add ICE, they can,\" a project representative said. The team described ice as a separate potential investment that would require its own feasibility, funding and operating plan.

Figure-skating advocates and youth-hockey parents said the absence of local ice limits athlete development and competitive opportunities. \"There is 0 availability of that in this county,\" said Steve Wright, noting the county currently has no public ice sheet and urging consideration of an ice facility either alongside the proposed complex or as a near-term adjacent project.

Designers and county staff encouraged advocates to complete the survey and noted that the information collected will be reviewed by recreation planners for future facility decisions. They also repeated that operational and funding decisions would be determined in later phases if the county elects to proceed past preliminary design and cost estimating.","Several speakers urged adding an ice rink to address lack of local ice access; project staff said the initial market analysis noted ice users but did not include ice in the current sports-complex program.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6364507,"Pickleball players urge county to include dozens of dedicated courts; some ask for 12–24 indoor courts",2470,911000,3381000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db&start=911&end=3381","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2164631-00eec5e384784949b545ee4abfcfb6db/thumbnail_911000.jpg","/articles/6364507/St-Marys-County/Maryland/Pickleball-players-urge-county-to-include-dozens-of-dedicated-courts-some-ask-for-1224-indoor-courts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6364507-249b8acd3eddc176ba6155895ca9749a/orig.mp4?Expires=1773283746&Signature=cvhxI1oHHoFccFX9lb3vonEnGSHk5V9e1pVylANhwrOYrOFNbkHZHbp-ozJ4-iUEbX-njNX43eAuBZSd0HSX1CRm5oqTO29X~p1cJ20Moffmhj8zFbUhfVMjf1TAgznj6IuW43nP5eMmk-habYBrG7PnFRgWQB4vMM-qTQO5Z8vQIWZOy5YbKGfcc5bMkm0rdL0HD2EXfmF33FQ~4~cllVI2W4~ppYJAP0xFPToUSFga0KP74AEfm9OUzj~y7lFtsLmzBZeajDy47dStEZ3W2NwAxYF8aswx5XZRH0fIP7w3zketob0GOOGJT0fV33iRFaAkUemXPwENkB4xflSrow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Dozens of pickleball players and local organizers used their public comment time during the St. Mary's County sports-complex presentation to press the design team and county officials to include a substantial number of dedicated pickleball courts, including requests for at least 12 indoor courts and proposals calling for 24 or more.

\"Pickleball has rapidly gained traction. It's the fastest growing sport in America,\" said Alex Smolden, who presented local participation figures and a supplemental packet to the design team. Smolden told the meeting the Southern Maryland Pickleball Facebook group has more than 1,500 members and that some local courts are heavily booked: \"That court has 4 pickleball courts and is the only court for people under 50 in the county with lights. So it gets pretty congested and pretty busy,\" he said.

Other speakers described multi-generational participation and local tournament activity. \"It's all inclusive,\" said Warren Midlock, who described seeing families and seniors play together at Chancellor's Run Park and urged dedicated courts. Local advocates from community organizations and private operators urged the county to plan for tournament-scale capacity and to follow size and surface guidance used by competitive facilities.

Mark Guadagnoli, Southern Maryland ambassador for USA Pickleball, advised the design team on court sizing and capacity and cited national participation growth: \"If you use to 2019 and 2020 data, you're cutting yourself short... it was 20,000,000 participants then. It's 40,000,000 now,\" he said, arguing the county should plan for a larger facility than older data suggest.

Designers and county staff noted the project's program was informed by a 2020 market study and the current public survey; they encouraged advocates to complete the online questionnaire and said public input will inform final layouts. The design team did not commit to a final court count or to a particular operational model at this preliminary phase.

Speakers calling for courts also suggested dedicating surfaces (not temporary overlays) and considering lighting and scheduling so community play and tournaments could coexist. Project staff said operational details and decisions about whether the county would operate or contract facility management would be addressed in later design and procurement phases.

Public commenters left data and contact information and asked the design team to factor pickleball into the program validation and the follow-up site and traffic analyses.","Multiple residents and local organizers told designers at the St. Mary's County sports-complex meeting that local demand for pickleball far exceeds supply and urged dedicated indoor and outdoor courts to host leagues and tournaments.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Design team previews preliminary plans for proposed St. Mary's County sports complex at St. Andrew's Church Road site

Hockey and figure-skating advocates press for ice rink; design team says ice not included in preliminary plan

Pickleball players urge county to include dozens of dedicated courts; some ask for 12–24 indoor courts