Dover group gives $10,000 to analyze potential of Frederica sports site

Delaware State News

DOVER — The Greater Dover Committee has pledged $10,000 towards the completion of a feasibility study for a proposed Kent County athletic complex that could generate significant tourism dollars to the area.

Bill Strickland, who heads the economic development committee of the Greater Dover Committee, said the contribution will go toward an estimated total of $60,000 needed to complete the study.

The Greater Dover Committee, with more than 50 members, is a non-profit organization created in the late 1980s by civic-minded business executives to identify emerging community issues and to take on projects they feel will improve the quality of life for the residents of the area.

In May, Kent County Levy Court agreed to authorize site analysis for an 85-acre sports facility that has been proposed next to the Kent County Wastewater Treatment Facility known as West Farm, near Frederica.

"I don’t know of another opportunity that could provide such immediate and significant economic impact," Mr. Strickland said.

Linda Parkowski of the Delaware Tourism office initiated discussions about the need for a sports complex in Delaware. The Frederica site proposed would contain 15 multi-purpose fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football, and possibly a lighted stadium with seating for up to 1,000 as well as a concession stand and pro shop.

The draw of athletes from around the region for socccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other tournaments and events would be a boon to hotel and restaurant business in the region.

Kent County’s involvement would be donation of the land with a $1 per year lease.

Mr. Strickland said the Greater Dover Committee created its economic development committee a few months ago after taking a survey of its members to identify pressing issues.

"Our executive commmittee thought the athletic complex would be a good project for the economic development committee to embrace," Mr. Strickland said.

He said the committee could serve as a facilitator for the project and help raise the money needed to complete the study.

The intent of the study, Mr. Strickland said, would be to analyze support of the complex and gauge the economic return, particularly to the areas surrounding Frederica.

Operation of the facility has not yet been determined. However, discussions have centered on private management services.

"Our endorsement of the project," Mr. Strickland said, "was based on the fact that it was going to be professionally managed."

Cindy Small, executive director of Kent County Tourism, said the timing is good for the area to have a facility that could draw major tournaments.

On Nov. 6, the state’s newly created Delaware Sports Commission will be launched. Its goal will be to draw sporting events to the state.

"We want it to be the kind of facility people will love and people will use," said Ms. Small.

In presentations on the Frederica complex, Ms. Parkowski said a large tournament could have an economic value of $2.5 million in a weekend.

Mr. Strickland noted that the sports complex could be "quasi-recession proof."

Parents, he said, maintain a commitment to children’s sports interests despite the travel and overnight-stay costs.

Officials say potential 85-acre Frederica site could host national events

Delaware State News

DOVER — Imagine Kent County hosting a national youth soccer tournament, drawing thousands of participants and spectators over a weekend, packing hotels and restaurants and pouring millions into the local economy.

Imagine a state-of-the-art sports complex that could hold that type of mega-event, with as many as 15 fields and a lighted, 1,000-seat, artificial turf mini-stadium serving as the centerpiece.

Imagine that shiny venue also being used for local sporting events year-round, where high school and recreational soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and football games could be played in a convenient, centralized location.

A farfetched idea? Not so, says Linda Parkowski, Delaware director of tourism, who hopes just such a complex can be built in the next several years in the Frederica area and is spearheading the effort to fulfill that dream.

"We are missing the boat," Parkowski said. "This is the type of facility Delaware really could use. We need this kind of economic development. It would have a big impact."

Though a long way from reality, the concept of a Kent County outdoor sports complex is gaining momentum. Parkowski already has the ear of Kent County Levy Court, which, pending a feasibility study performed by Parkowski’s office, would be willing to donate 85 acres of a 600-acre tract that adjoins the Kent County Wastewater Treatment Facility, known as West Farm, near Frederica.

Major obstacles lie ahead. A developer or other private entity would have to step forward and pay for the project — a potential price tag is not currently available — and someone would have to run the facility, perhaps through a public-private partnership arrangement.

In the midst of a deep recession, this isn’t an easy undertaking. But Parkowski is confident it will happen.

"This is not an overnight project; it could take two or three years," said Parkowski. "But I am optimistic."

The proposal already has drawn interest from at least one prominent designer of sports facilities. Ripken Design, part of the Ripken Baseball firm headed by Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., has inquired about being involved.

Though the challenge is great, county officials have reacted positively to the sports complex proposal.

"The benefit of the proposal as it was presented to us will be one of the most exciting things to happen in Kent County in recent history," said Levy Court President P. Brooks Banta.

Jody Sweeney, Levy Court Fifth District commissioner and a longtime area soccer coach, echoed that enthusiasm.

"This type of complex would be a tremendous boost for the local economy, and would generate more interest in sports," Sweeney said.

"The CDSA (Central Delaware Soccer Association) is using borrowed fields. They can’t build their program the same way other programs in the state can. We’re missing out here in Kent County."

The extent of Kent County’s involvement would be donating the land.

"In Kent County, land is one of the most expensive parts of any enterprise," Sweeney said. "And we just happen to have land we can donate for this project. If this facility is built, you’re looking at a great place to host tournaments, both at the national and local level."

Parkowski got the ball rolling on a Kent County sports complex plan when she took over as state tourism head last year and discovered that Delaware didn’t have an adequate facility to host large-scale sports tournaments such as soccer, field hockey or lacrosse.

"I could have booked two national tournaments already if we’d had this type of facility," she said.

How much of a benefit could it be to the local economy? Parkowski, as part of her presentation to Levy Court, estimates a large tournament bringing in as much as $2.5 million in a weekend. A national event could bring from $3 million to $6 million.

Kent County hosted a tournament of bands in 2007 that raked in $4 million over several days, Parkowski said.

Parkowski, eager to scout out potential sites, approached Kent County administrator Michael J. Petit de Mange about available land. He offered her several possibilities, including the Frederica site.

In February, Parkowski and Petit de Mange took a field trip to a prominent sports complex in Downingtown, Pa., west of Philadelphia, that has hosted large tournaments, to gauge the approximate size and scope of what would be required for a Kent County facility.

"The Frederica site provides the acreage needed and offers an excellent location, with proximity from the Dover and Milford areas," Petit de Mange said. "Eventually, the concept was developed and ultimately presented to Levy Court."

Commissioners have yet to vote on the proposal to donate the land, but responded enthusiastically and are awaiting a business plan from Parkowski.

As Parkowski envisions it, the facility would consist of about 15 rectangular fields that could accommodate soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football. A lighted, artificial-turf field housed in a 1,000-seat facility would serve as the cornerstone, accompanied by concession stands and restrooms.

"This type of tournament could host national and regional tournaments, but the other big benefit is service to the community," Parkowski said. "The CDSA doesn’t have enough fields to practice on. Soccer is a very popular sport. And lacrosse is growing greatly in this area. This facility is needed."

"It definitely would have an impact on the local economy," Petit de Mange said. "That’s what really intrigues us."