If all goes according to plan, even though it hasn’t thus far, the multi-use sports and entertainment project which Charles County has been planning for three years will finally break ground mid-summer.
 |
| Artistic rendering of the planned Waldorf stadium. |
On Wednesday afternoon, Chuck Beall, Director of Capital Projects, reported to the county commissioners that 11 bids were received for construction of the stadium project, the best of which came from Skanska USA Building Inc.’s Rockville office at a total project cost of $25.65 million. Skanska already holds the contract for managing the stadium project.
The county’s portion of the bill will be $8.5 million, $1.5 million more than the previous board of commissioners agreed to spend on the project. Even though the bid is $4.65 million over the stadium’s orginial $21 million budget, the commissioners enthusiastically voted to accept it and move forward with the project.
The Stadium will host the minor league Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, one of eight teams in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs. Maryland Baseball LLC will own the team and front one third of the cost of the stadium project. The owners have guaranteed the county a minimum revenue of about half the expected annual bond payment. Until the project bond is paid off, Maryland Baseball will also take responsibility for any capital repairs in addition to regular maintenance.
The state has committed to funding the final third of the project. Commissioner Gary V. Hodge (D) explained that the Maryland General Assembly, in three separate sessions, solidly continued to support this project through two governors, two assemblies, a myriad of sub-committees and three different boards of commissioners. Hodge expressed his appreciation for the non-partisan support the county has continually received from the State for this project.
Even though it’s only funding one third of total cost, the completed stadium will be the sole property of Charles County. As such, the County has control over the building’s after baseball hours and off-season usage. This is the biggest and most secure difference between the Charles County project and other minor league ball parks, like the Bowie stadium.
The commissioners envision the sports and entertainment complex acting as a community center of a sort. The field will host a variety of local sports at all levels; it can also hold an ice rink in winter. Multi purpose rooms and public areas inside the building can offer a venue for an enormous variety of events: seminars, art and craft shows, private parties, 4-H events, and non-profit events. Beall even mentioned that the stadium seating can be altered to accommodate a ski slope in the winter.
Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D) explained, “There are no limitations on how we can use this stadium. …that’s what makes this project [so] potentially prosperous.”
Hodge agreed, saying, “We’re only limited by our imaginations.”
Once the ground-breaking ceremony is held in late Ju