Henderson County says Berkeley Sports Complex phase one on track for fall; historic ballfield pushed to Phase 2

Assistant County Manager Chris Todd updated the Town of Fletcher–hosted joint meeting on July 21 that construction at the Berkeley Sports Complex is advancing and the county expects the first phase to be complete in the October timeframe. "We are located across the street from Kimberly Clark. We are currently in the process of doing final grading, and you will see that we have installed four full-sized soccer fields, and we are asking folks to stay off of them for now," Todd said.

Todd described the fields as "collegiate-level, professional-level fields" and said the artificial turf includes Geo‑Cool technology. He said, "this turf has been tested and, on a hot day, can be up to 15 degrees cooler than regular turf in the sunlight." The project also includes six full-size tennis courts built to high‑school regulations, which the county said received USTA grant funding to make them fully ADA-accessible, plus a softball field and shared amenities such as restrooms, ticket booths and administrative space. Todd said the TDA provided funding for lighting.

The county described the historic baseball field as part of Phase 2, which will not be complete this fall; the board has engaged Michael Graves Architecture to prepare a preliminary plan for the historic-field restoration and related outbuildings. Todd said staff is investigating whether temporary improvements could open the historic field sooner but cautioned about cost implications. He also said the complex will have about 320 parking spaces and that future phases reserve space for a playground and a small dog area.

There was no formal vote on the project at the meeting. County and municipal leaders expressed appreciation for the investment and asked staff to continue to report timeline and cost details as designs for Phase 2 are finalized.