Frederick cricket stadium advances as Washington Freedom begins required city payments
Washington Freedom has paid Frederick $500,000 toward transportation improvements and filed early site documents, but construction cannot begin until a final site plan is approved.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
The proposed stadium would have capacity for about 10,000 people. Washington Freedom has paid the city $500,000 for transportation improvements. Another $1 million remains due under the annexation agreement. The organization has filed a grading permit application. A forest conservation plan has also been filed. A final site plan has not yet been filed. Stadium construction cannot begin until the final site plan is approved. A traffic-impact study and adequate-public-facilities review remain ahead.
Plans for a professional cricket stadium in Frederick are moving into the next stage of the city approval process, but the project is still not ready for construction.
The Washington Freedom cricket organization recently delivered a $500,000 payment to the City of Frederick for transportation improvements, satisfying part of the financial obligations connected to the Gateway property development.
The payment is required under an amended annexation agreement.
According to Planning Director Gabrielle Collard, the team still owes an additional $1 million under that agreement.
The project calls for a special-events stadium along East Patrick Street with a maximum capacity of approximately 10,000 spectators, including about 5,000 fixed seats and space for another 5,000 people.
City planning records show the Gateway property previously went through rezoning review to establish a cricket stadium classified as a special event center.
The team has now filed for a grading permit and submitted a forest conservation plan, steps that could allow preparation of the site to begin in coming months.
But those filings do not authorize stadium construction.
Collard said Washington Freedom still has not filed its final site plan, and no actual construction can begin until that plan is approved.
A traffic-impact study will eventually be required as part of the city’s adequate public facilities review.
That process is intended to determine whether surrounding roads, water systems, electrical infrastructure and other public facilities can handle the increased demand from the project.
If deficiencies are identified, the developer may be required to change the plan or fund improvements necessary to make public infrastructure adequate.
The Washington Freedom organization is also responsible for anticipated added public-safety and public-works costs associated with the stadium under the rezoning conditions.
Washington Freedom owner Sanjay Govil said the organization hopes to become part of Frederick’s sports community as the project moves forward.
Another potential change could affect how large projects are reviewed.
Council Member Peter Brehm is working on legislation that would give the City Council review authority over certain major site plans. Under the existing process, site-plan decisions typically rest with the Planning Commission rather than the council.
The proposed procedural change has not yet been adopted.
WHAT IT MEANS
The cricket stadium has moved beyond rezoning and into more detailed planning, but several major approval steps remain.
The $500,000 payment and permit filings demonstrate that the organization is moving forward with the project, while the final site plan and infrastructure testing will determine whether construction can actually proceed and what additional improvements may be required.
What Happens Next
Washington Freedom must submit a final site plan and complete the city’s development-review process.
That review will include traffic and public-facilities testing before the Planning Commission can vote on the project.
If approved, construction could begin within several months of final site-plan approval, according to city planning staff.
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