Hagerstown indoor sports facility anticipated to open as early as next fall

With an agreement finalized that earmarks $1.2 million from the county for the project, funding continues to come together for a $24.6 million fieldhouse on Memorial Boulevard.

And it's anticipated that the new facility, where people can play basketball, soccer, lacrosse, volleyball, futsal and wrestling, will be open by the end of next year or possibly in January 2025, according to city officials.

Where will the fieldhouse be built ?

The indoor sports facility will be built where Municipal Stadium once sat. That facility, once home to the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball team, was torn down as the Maryland Stadium Authority began focusing on a new 5,000-seat stadium on Baltimore Street that will be home to a new Atlantic League baseball team known as the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars.

Who will pay for 911 ?: County, city in dispute over 911 center payment

City officials have said there is a big demand for an indoor sports facility that could also be used for conventions such as dog shows. Project officials said previously that it will also offer a fitness center, restaurant, kids zone and be able to support esports, which are competitive multiplayer video games.

Previously: Hagerstown field house could open in 2024. But how will it be paid for?

How will it be paid for ?

The city has been working on funding for the fieldhouse for months, and part of the progress is contained in a recent 911 funding agreement between the Hagerstown City Council and the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

It revolved around a consolidated 911 dispatch center that was opened in 2009 on Elliott Parkway. Because 11 city employees joined the center, the city agreed to pay a sum equal to 85% of their salaries to help fund the operation. Up until then, Hagerstown Police had its own dispatching system.

Councilman Bob Bruchey, who was mayor at that time, didn't believe the funding agreement was for perpetuity, but the county felt otherwise. As a result, the city stopped making a $405,630 911 payment to the county on June 23, 2020, until the issue could be resolved.

In the new agreement, the county estimated the city was $1.2 million in arrears on 911 payments. And because the city has been looking to the county to help pay for the fieldhouse, the county offered not to hold the city responsible for the money, and instead consider the $1.2 million the county's contribution toward the fieldhouse.

The agreement also calls for the city to pay the county $304,500 this fiscal year, $203,000 the following fiscal year and $102,000 the year after that to help fund the 911 center. Bruchey said in a phone interview Tuesday those contributions were arrived at in an attempt to help the county gradually take over 911 center costs without being hit with them all at once.

After those dollars are paid, the city's obligation to the center will be "extinguished," according to the agreement.

Both sides have formally approved the deal.

The county also contributed $250,000 in hotel tax revenue for the project.

The city partnered with Eastern Sports Management to develop the fieldhouse. Project officials said previously that the facility will be about 114,000 square feet and will include two indoor turf fields and six basketball courts.

'The entire four-state area' will be drawn here

Bruchey said the city is planning to issue a bond to help fund the facility, which will be paid for by a user agreement with Eastern Sports Management. The rest of the funding will come from state sources, which state Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington, is continuing to work on, he said. About $9 million still needed to be raised as of last month, according to the city.

Hopefully sometime this month, the council can advertise for a bid to build the fieldhouse, Michelle Hepburn, the city's chief financial officer, said during a July 18 council meeting. Hepburn said she hopes the council can award a bid by the end of October. Hepburn described various parts of the funding efforts from sources like the state and said it will be a "very aggressive process."

Bruchey said he hopes construction can start soon and as long as the region is not dealt a harsh winter this year, be open by fall of next year. Hepburn presented another scenario of construction being completed by January 2025. She said project officials are worried about having a grand opening any later than that during a winter season, saying a grand opening for such a facility is ideally between September and October.

Councilman Kristin Aleshire said during the July 18 meeting that he appreciates the county's recognition of the importance of the facility to the community. Currently, county residents and kids are going to indoor sports facilities in other communities like Winchester, Va., Gaithersburg, Md. and Westminster, Md.

Now the county has the chance to keep those athletes and the economic benefit they create here, he said.

"We're going to draw from Cumberland (Md.), we're going to draw from Chambersburg (Pa.) and Martinsburg (W.Va.) and the entire four-state area," Aleshire said.

It's estimated the fieldhouse will attract about 27,000 people annually, and they will spend $1.4 million on lodging, according to an economic impact report.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown indoor sports facility to open in 2024 or early 2025