SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) – Some big changes are coming to a more than $12 million sports complex in Summerville.
The Oakbrook Sports Complex, located in the current Oakbrook YMCA, will include “state-of-the-art” turf sports fields and more.
“This is where we talk to anyone in our community and say, 'I learned to play baseball here, I learned to swim here, I learned to play soccer here.' This is where we started. , which is where we're headed right now, 'to a whole new level,' says Somerville YMCA CEO Joe Debney.
The Somerville YMCA will donate 17 acres and the county will foot the bill, which has more than doubled in the past three years.
Currently, the fields are poorly drained, the grass is uneven, and the contours of the fields are covered in chalk.
Once complete, the new complex will include two soccer fields and other multi-purpose athletic fields with underground drainage, lighting, parking, concessions, playgrounds and restrooms.
“If you're going to come out here, our fields need a break,” Debney says. “We can dry these fields quickly and provide better facilities for the children, so they don’t have rainy days and don’t have to go somewhere else to play.”
Dorchester County Council Chairman Tom Fridle says the new complex will allow the county to host travel sports in an area where outdoor recreation is booming.
“We have top-of-the-line facilities for the local community as well as traveling tourists. People who come here with their teams to travel and stay spend their money in the Somerville market in the Dorchester area.” Fridle says.
The project is part of the county's broader goal to utilize TIF funds to revitalize the entire Oak Brook area, and Fridle explained that tax revenue generated from the area will be returned to the TIF.
Fridl said he had originally partnered with another organization on the project, but “we just couldn't get it together.”
Friddle said they are currently going through the permitting process and hope to break ground on the project in the summer if everything goes according to plan. Once construction begins, he estimates the complex will take about 18 months to complete.
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