Hagerstown has contractor, plans to cover costs for $26 million field house. What we know
A contractor is lined up for the construction of the Hagerstown field house, but there's still a $17 million shortfall in funding for the almost $26 million project.
Waynesboro Construction Co. Inc., which has offices in Waynesboro, Pa., and Frederick, Md., was the lowest bidder out of nine proposals, City Engineer Jim Bender told Mayor Tekesha Martinez and city council members Tuesday.
The bid price is $19.3 million, which was just over $500,000 less than the next closest bidder.
After examining the nine bids and scoring them, Waynesboro was one of two bidders brought in for followup interviews with the city, architects, project management group Pinnacle, and Eastern Sports Management, which will operate the facility once it is constructed.
Waynesboro has been responsible for a number of projects in Washington and Frederick counties in Maryland and Franklin County, Pa., including Jonathan Hager Elementary, Brewer's Alley Brew Pub and Restaurant, and Quincy Village, among others.
What are other costs for the Hagerstown field house?
Waynesboro's price does not include other costs to complete the project, including furniture, fixtures and equipment at just under $4.4 million; project management at $440,000; inspection and testing at $37,605; construction contingencies at $500,000; and utility fees and other costs adding up to about $313,900, said Bender.
With Waynesboro's bid, those things would add up to about $25.9 million, said Eastern Sports Management President John Wack.
What funding does Hagerstown have lined up for the field house?
To partially pay for the project, the city has several potential sources, Bender said.
They include state grants totaling $3.75 million; American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the stormwater management portion of the project at $700,000; money from city budget transfers totaling about $2.9 million; donation/redirection of money from county 911 payments at $1.2 million; and funds from the Washington County hotel/motel tax at $250,000, among others.
Those sources total just under $9 million.
Will Hagerstown have to borrow money to pay for the field house?
Also included is a guaranteed $7 million in the developer's contract with Eastern Sports Management that will be paid out over 20 years, Bender said.
"We don't have that money up front, so we're going to have to carry that in bond financing," he said.
That leaves a little more than $10 million without a funding source "at this point," Bender said. "So putting those two numbers together, we're probably looking at bonding between $17 (million) and $18 million."
The city doesn't have a set plan for when it would go through the bond issuing process, City Administrator Scott Nicewarner said in an email Wednesday.
"Timing still to be determined but the sooner the better," he wrote.
More: Hagerstown field house could open in 2024. But how will it be paid for?
What does the field house project entail?
The city tore down Municipal Stadium in 2022 after Major League Baseball contracted the number of minor-league affiliates it had, essentially eliminating the Hagerstown Suns.
Plans call for 114,000 square feet of indoor space in the new field house. The facility will have two indoor turf fields, four basketball/multi-use courts, a fitness facility, an ESports facility, a food service area, and other amenities, according to city documents.
What's next for the field house project?
City Council is expected to vote on the contract with Waynesboro at its next regular session, 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at City Hall.
The time table is still being hashed out, but officials have said the field house could be opened in 2024.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown lines up contractor for $26 million indoor field house
