FAIRHOPE, Alabama — On a nearly 40-acre stretch of former farmland at the corner of Manley Road and Baldwin County 13, weeds have grown up around a “Coming Soon” sign advertising the city’s planned soccer complex, a quiet marker of just how many delays have piled up since Fairhope bought the property in late 2009 for $875,000.
A budget blown wide open
City leaders had lined up roughly $2 million for construction this year, hoping to have fields ready in time for fall recreational leagues. Instead, when bids finally came back in late July for the 10-field complex, only one contractor submitted a proposal, a Summerdale-based firm, and its price of about $5.49 million covered only grading, drainage, parking and the fields themselves, without sidewalks, fencing, irrigation or lighting included. The City Council rejected the bid, and officials are now working to rework the project into something more affordable.
Leaders search for a workable number
The council president said he and the mayor are working closely with the city’s engineering firm to trim costs while preserving as many amenities as possible, while the mayor has asked the council to settle on a hard budget figure so the project can move forward. Both officials say a decision on how to proceed is expected by September, when the city will need to formally commit funding for the fiscal year.
A project already redesigned once
This is not the complex’s first setback. Engineers first had to account for a sloped site, and neighboring residents later raised concerns about routing the main entrance through a residential stretch of Manley Road. The plans were revised so that most access would instead come from Baldwin County 13, with drainage handled through an underground green infrastructure system rather than traditional retention ponds. To make that access work, the city negotiated with the county to take over maintenance of that stretch of road, and current plans call for a 700-space parking lot with several access points.
Scaling back to get something built
The original vision called for two professional-quality fields with bleachers, a press box, a concession stand and enough amenities to host state high school championships or college tournaments, on top of a playground, picnic pavilions and a walking path open to the public. With the full project now estimated near $7 million, city leaders say the immediate priority will be building usable fields for local youth leagues first, with amenities like bleachers and press facilities added later as grant funding allows.
No appetite for the current price tag
At least one council member has said publicly that a $5 million price tag is too high for the city to absorb and that he would not support spending at that level, though he said officials are looking at ways to cut costs, including possibly using city crews for some of the work. Despite the setback, city leaders have stressed that scrapping the project entirely is not on the table, framing the complex as a needed investment in Fairhope’s youth sports programs even if it takes longer than originally hoped to get shovels in the ground.