Residents urge commissioners to reject Southmont-area sports complex over wildlife and traffic concerns

At the public-comment portion of the Sept. 22 Davidson County meeting, two residents urged commissioners to halt plans for a proposed sports complex near Southmont, saying the project would damage wildlife habitat and generate heavy weekend traffic.

Henry Weller, who identified himself as a Southmont neighbor, read a series of lyrical lines and framed his remarks in ecological terms. "Some folks see land as empty space, but we see it as sacred living place," Weller said. He read song lyrics that included the lines, "Sing for the forest... No Southmont Sports Flex, not today. This is where the wild things play. We don't need concrete. We need shade. This forest raised us. Let it stay." Weller asked commissioners to "stop this project before it destroys our peaceful community and the land we love." His remarks described local sightings of deer, eagles, herons and other wildlife.

Dave Nichols, who said he was a soccer referee and tournament director for 30 years, described the scale of multi-team soccer tournaments and urged the board to consider traffic impacts. "On average, each player brings seven other people... so let's just go low, let's say 15 players... that's 120 people per team," Nichols said, sketching a scenario where hundreds to thousands of vehicles could arrive over the course of tournament days. He said tournament directors schedule many games per field, start early in the morning and often run until dark, and that local vendors and restaurants would see business but neighborhoods could face sustained weekend congestion.

Neither speaker asked for formal board action; both framed their remarks as appeals for commissioners to reconsider or halt the project. The board did not take immediate action on the comments during the meeting.