WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. -- It's been years in the making, but leaders in Ocean City have settled on a location. If this sports complex gets built, it will very likely be behind Stephen Decatur High School.
It's the first of many hurdles, but Ocean City's Sports Complex Task Force has decided the roughly 100-acre property near Berlin is the best fit for an estimated $130M complex.
Now, Ocean City and Berlin officials tell WBOC they want to make sure it's the best fit for the people who live nearby.
"We're looking to get some feedback from the neighborhood," said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.
To do that, Ocean City and Berlin have scheduled an informational meeting for this Saturday, Feb. 7th. It will start at 11:00 a.m. and will be held in the cafeteria at Stephen Decatur High School.
"I know one of the big issues is traffic, we're going to try to address that right from the very beginning," said Meehan. "But there's other things, questions or concerns that we might not even know about yet."
One neighbor planning to attend Saturday's meeting is Mike Rivera.
"First and foremost, I'm excited that they're thinking about a sports complex here in the Ocean City, Berlin area," said Rivera.
Rivera and his family moved into a home on Flower Street about two years ago. Should this project come to fruition, the complex would be built, literally, right across the street from Rivera's home.
So, while he's intrigued with the idea, he has some questions.
"Who's going to pay for it?" questioned Rivera.
Rivera said one of his biggest concerns is that this will ultimately fall on county taxpayers.
Meehan said that won't be the case.
"It would be financed through room tax," said Meehan. "There'd be no county tax dollars, there'd be no cost to the county residents at all."
Meehan said the project will be split 60-40 between the state and town. If the project timeline stays on track, Ocean City officials will go before Maryland's legislature next year to work out the state's 60% contribution.
As for Ocean City's 40%, Meehan said those dollars will come from tourism.
"There would not be additional tax dollars taken out of the general fund for this project," said Meehan.
Of course, that portion of this process is still at least a year away. Before Ocean City goes before state lawmakers, officials plan to host three community meetings, the first of which, again, is this Saturday.
Meehan said information gathered from the first meeting will be used to craft a final site plan.
"We're looking to go back and start a design incorporating the feedback and what we've heard from the residents, then come back and present that to the residents and get additional conversation," said Meehan.