Westfield schedules hearing on proposed sports complex
Westfield will give residents a chance to talk next week about bringing a sports complex to the city.
The city’s Advisory Plan Commission will hold a public hearing Monday on whether to incorporate the sports complex into Westfield’s comprehensive plan.
If the complex is added, it would be the second of two large developments added to the comprehensive plan this year.
Westfield amended its comprehensive plan in April to include extensive downtown redevelopment.
City officials say they don’t know when either development will become a reality.
Westfield’s Sports Complex Commission decided last month that a sports complex is feasible but provided few details why.
The commission is working to determine details of the complex and hopes to have a rendering by October, commission member William Knox said in an e-mail forwarded to The Star by Westfield city spokeswoman Carrie Cason.
Mayor Andy Cook said this week that all media questions about the sports complex and downtown redevelopment must be submitted to Cason in writing.
Knox is chairman of the commission’s Scope of Sports subcommittee, which has proposed the complex have 74 fields and courts for at least 10 sports, including basketball, football, rugby, lacrosse and tennis.
A complex that size would take up about 242 acres, Knox said in the e-mail.
Cason said those details could change as the process moves forward.
The subcommittee knows there is a need for recreational facilities, but it is still determining the feasibility of hosting tournaments and professional and college sports. Knox said the committee has met with 22 sports organizations so far.
The Sports Complex Commission also must decide where to put the complex and how to run it.
When Westfield announced the idea for a complex in April, the city thought it should be along Towne Road between 146th and 161st Streets. That location is still being considered, commission leader Kevin Teder said, but the group hasn’t settled on a place yet.
Westfield hopes the complex will make the city the “Family Sports Capital of America.” The city is going through the process of trademarking that name.
Monday’s hearing will be at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 130 Penn St.
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