A private interest group pushing county officials to approve a 24-field soccer complex in Germantown, upped the ante last week by pledging more money for the project.
Maryland SoccerPlex Foundation, a consortium of private individuals and soccer groups, has proposed doubling their first bid from $5 million to $10 million for a soccer complex development at South Germantown Regional Park.
SoccerPlex representatives made the announcement at a Montgomery County Parks Commission public meeting held Thursday at the Germantown Community Center.
It was the second public hearing this month that drew more than 200 people to hear the latest plans and give testimony on the evolving SoccerPlex project.
The project has swirled up conflict between the county soccer community and local residents who live around the 658-acre park's boundaries of Schaeffer and White Ground roads and Burdette Lane.
Local residents want to put the breaks on the SoccerPlex project, with concerns about the impact of such a large complex on the semi-rural community.
As envisioned by SoccerPlex representatives, the $10 million in private financing for the park would pay for 24 fields, an indoor soccer arena, 5,000-seat championship stadium, playgrounds, picnic areas, restrooms, hiking and biking trails, relocation and addition of baseball fields and restoration of historic structures.
Of the $10 million, SoccerPlex is proposing $5.5 million from corporate sponsorships to build the indoor soccer arena.
The public contribution to the project is $4.9 million in combined pledges from Gov. Parris N. Glendening and County Executive Douglas M. Duncan. The complex could open as early as 2002, according to parks officials.
About 34 people testified for or against the SoccerPlex plan Thursday night.
John Kerekes, president of the Germantown Citizens Association, said the civic group supports the idea of the soccer complex, but has many questions regarding the impact of the development on the community.
"Police control, particularly during tournaments, has been suggested and it sounds appealing," Kerekes said.
"We are suspicious however, of whether sufficient police manpower exists to make it an effective tool," he said. "We do not view it as a solution to the day-to-day traffic this facility would create."
Boyds resident Christopher Arndt said he is 100 percent in favor of the soccer complex proposal. He said there is "a crying need for a new indoor soccer facility," and it will "improve the quality of life" for local residents.
He questioned why opponents attribute the projected traffic increases solely on the soccer complex when there are 4,500 future homes coming to the area that are predicted to generate the most traffic.
Janet Hughes, executive director with Montgomery Soccer, Inc. (MSI), also encouraged the commissioners to favor the proposal.
Even if the 24-field complex is approved, Hughes said it will not erase the critical need for soccer fields in the county.
"It's just a small part of a large problem, but [the complex] is desperately needed," she said.
Mark Wildman, a life-long Germantown resident and developer of property next to the park, said the plan has too many fields for one location and suggested spreading them out at other upcounty parks or schools.
Wildman said he supports the original plan for South Germantown Regional Park approved in 1996 that includes 13 soccer fields and a host of other recreational facilities. He asked the commissioners to think carefully about approving a 24-field complex.
"When you make your decision, I hope you place yourself living directly next to this park with 4,000 [people] cheering at four, five or six games a day."
The County Council's Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee is scheduled to discuss the proposal in March or April.
From the Gazette Papers