The chances are pretty good that you’ve noticed some construction off main street, north of town. Before you know it, that 42 acre sandbox is going to be transformed into the Holly Springs North Main Athletic Complex. The project is being completed in two phases.
Phase I –
Phase I is going to be completed in November of this year. This portion of the project includes 8 regulation size tennis courts, with 6 of them being built to USTA (United States Tennis Association)/ NCAA tournament standards. The courts will have an asphalt surface, and will be open for use to the public. The courts will be lit at night with a resettable timer, to which the public will also have access.
Phase I will also include two new soccer/multi-use fields. The fields will offer the same surface as the main fields at Womble Park. The synthetic turf fields significantly reduce the chance of flooding, or other issues that can occur with natural fields. Synthetic turf and lights increase the playability of an athletic field by 300% over a one year period.
The parking lot will also be completed in November with Phase I. The parking lot will have 1,100 to 1,200 spaces, and will also offer two outdoor basketball courts, which will be available for public use when not needed for parking. The cost of Phase I is $8.3 million. I will address later how that is being paid for.
Phase II –
Phase II will add what could be considered the new crown jewel of Holly Springs: An All-Sports stadium that will offer seating for 1,800, and space for at least an additional 1,200 attendees. The 1,800 seats will not be bleachers, but individual seats. The field will also be synthetic turf. Included in the current sports line-up are baseball, youth football and lacrosse. Phase II is slated to be completed by May of 2015.
The primary tenant for the stadium will be the Coastal Plain League (CPL). Over the course of the year, the CPL will be using the stadium about 30% of the time. The Stadium will also offer full concessions with pizza, hot dogs, beer and everything you’d expect to find at a ball park.
The Coastal Plain League is new to the area, but not new to baseball. The league competed from 1937 to 1941 before suspending operations for World War II. The league resumed in 1946 and ran through 1952. The league has had some pretty impressive players; including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Cal Ripken, Sr..
The Coastal Plain League was revived in the 90’s by League President Pete Bock. Since then, the Coastal Plain League has quickly grown to be one of the premier summer collegiate baseball leagues in the country. The CPL prides itself on creating a professional, minor league-like atmosphere for all its players, coaches, umpires, and fans each and every summer!
2014 sees the 18th year for the “new” Coastal Plain League. There are 14 teams across the Carolinas and Virginia. In 2012, CPL welcomed over 546,000 fans into its ballparks for the season.
The Coastal Plain League also ranks high in the eyes of Major League Baseball and its scouts. In fact, heading into the 2014 season, the Coastal Plain League has seen 65 alums who have made it to the Majors, including 25 in the last three years alone.
In addition to the CPL, the new facility will host the youth football, youth soccer and youth lacrosse through the Town of Holly Springs.
Other plans for the park include a greenway connection to the other parks, as well as future plans to connect to the 55 bypass. There will be a traffic light with a crosswalk installed at the entrance of the park on Main Street as well.
Making sense of the expense.
The contract for Phase I is $8.3M, and the contract for Phase II is $8.2M. So who’s paying the $16.5M bill? Well, $5M is being paid from the Parks & Rec Bond that was approved in 2013, and funded by the $0.02 tax increase in July of 2013. $8M is from loans, and the balance is coming from town reserve accounts.
The Coastal Plain League and Wake Futbol Club will be paying $170k year for the next 10 years. Other partners are Wake Tech and VA and NC/SC collegiate summer league baseball. The Town is anticipating an additional $120k / year annually from those and other sources. The capacity of the new facility is a great way to get bigger acts to Holly Springs. Currently, the only other venue in town is the 184 seat theater.
An initial study was conducted on the financial benefits to Holly Springs by adding NMAC to determine the economic impact on Holly Springs. The study revealed that this could bring in an additional $7 million annually into our economy. The study was later rechecked and the number confirmed by the Greater Raleigh Convention & Visitors Bureau. Just another great reason to be a part of the Holly Springs community.
The Parks & Rec Bond was for $20M. Of the $20M, $12.5M has been allocated. With the funds, the Town has made some significant improvements:
- The Town purchased Sugg Farm, which is now host to many of the Town outdoor events. In September, Sugg Farm will be the location for the first annual Beericana festival, being put on by local HS resident Wayne Holt. Beericana is the first non-town event being held at Sugg Farm. It’s though events like this that the town plans to recoup their investment.
- There were massive improvements done to Womble Park as well. The synthetic fields were added, as were 3 tennis courts. They also constructed a restroom building and connecting pavilion. Improvements were also made on the playground, and a 1/2 mile asphalt walking track was added.
- There was also a greenway built to connect Womble Park and Bass Lake Park. The project also funded a bridge that is being built at Bass Lake Park to connect the walking trail that encompasses the lake. Jones Park received new playground equipment, and they are adding an 18-hole Frisbee golf course. The first 9 holes are expected to be completed by the time you’re reading this article.
