Council agrees to lighting and drainage upgrades for Church Street Park, keeps it a community park amid cricket debate

Morrisville Town Council spent a lengthy work session on Jan. 27 evaluating options for Church Street Park—home to high‑level cricket matches—and stopped short of committing to the BDP vision’s more expensive pavilion buildouts.

Staff told council the town applied to the county tourism board for funding that would support lighting and field drainage improvements (the staff target: a multi‑fixture upgrade and underfield drainage to reduce rainouts). Those near‑term investments, staff said, are designed to improve the reliability of the field for tournaments and to permit night matches and broadcasts.

But longer‑term elements of the BDP visioning plan—player and spectator pavilions with associated parking and infrastructure—carry much higher estimates and create tradeoffs that drew sustained debate. Building the full BDP scheme, staff said, would require relocating on‑site community amenities such as the playground and tennis courts and would likely require additional zoning permissions from Research Triangle Park (RTP) authorities because the land sits inside RTP boundaries.

Council’s steering direction: While councilmembers acknowledged cricket’s regional draw and the economic analysis in BDP’s study, they coalesced around a narrower, phased approach. Members supported pursuing the lighting and field improvements now (contingent on grant funding) and asked staff to preserve Church Street Park as a community asset rather than converting it entirely to a cricket stadium. Multiple members urged staff to also pursue lower‑cost, high‑value player amenities (for example, modest locker or changing rooms in the southern lot and other incremental investments that could help tournament logistics) and to explore second‑site options such as Shiloh Park for expanded tournament play.

Key concerns and constraints: Staff noted several constraints that affect timeline and costs: Church Street Park is on land subject to RTP rules (which may require special zoning permission and ongoing fees for nonstandard uses), the town cannot annex RTP land under current state law, and topography and parking limit large on‑site spectator expansions. Council members raised concerns about lost community use if tennis courts or playgrounds were removed, uncertainties about revenue sharing with ACE or other tournament organizers, and the town’s limited capital capacity for a major stadium project.

Next steps: Staff will pursue the Wake County tourism grant decision, continue community engagement set for the coming weeks, provide more detailed cost and phasing options for incremental player amenities, and return to council with recommendations based on community feedback and RTP zoning analysis. No final pavilion construction or permanent removal of community amenities was authorized at the meeting.