Lacrosse Park Part of Prince George's County Tourism Push
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Lacrosse park part of Prince George’s County tourism push Premium content from Washington Business Journal by Missy Frederick, Staff Reporter Date: Friday, August 3, 2012, 6:00 am EDT Lacrosse may not seem the most likely of tourism drivers, but officials in Prince George’s County are hoping that a new field and stadium devoted to the sport could draw additional business to the county’s restaurants, hotels and other sporting destinations — if it gets built. The Maryland Stadium Authority and the Chesapeake Bayhawks, the area’s major league lacrosse team, are close to completing a feasibility and economic impact for a stadium at Bowie’s Green Branch Park. The $40,000 study, being conducted by Crossroads Consulting Inc., will examine whether there is a big enough market for lacrosse to justify the facility. The study will look at various sizes and layout configurations for the stadium and fields, and examine what other athletic events could be housed within the facility, said Gary McGuigan, project executive for the Maryland Stadium Authority. Cost estimates for construction aren’t part of the study. “It’s really just trying to find whether there is a market there,” McGuigan said. Maryland State Sen. Doug Peters, D-Dist. 23, believes there is. Peters initiated the study after being approached by the Bayhawks about three years ago to help find a site for a stadium. The General Assembly has also put aside $1 million, which the state’s parks and planning department has matched, to produce renderings of potential stadium designs if the study says the proposal makes sense, Peters said. “I’ve got six kids and four of them play lacrosse, and I would go hither and yon to these tournaments — to Pennsylvania, all over the place,” Peters said. “Sometimes they would be on old farm fields, with no place to park.” Given Maryland’s active lacrosse population, Peters thought it would make sense to house better facilities in the state. The Bayhawks currently play at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Average attendance for a game is between 9,000 and 10,000 fans. A team spokeswoman declined to comment on the study. Lacrosse is considered one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports. Baltimore-based U.S. Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body, says that youth participation alone has grown more than 138 percent since 2001, to about 300,000 people. Maryland ranks in the top five for states home to lacrosse players. Sports tourism is probably the largest niche the county targets, said J. Matthew Neitzey, executive director of the Prince George’s County Conference & Visitors Bureau. Among the county’s sports assets are The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, which hosts equestrian events and other tournaments; FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins; the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, which hosts mostly youth events; Prince George’s Stadium, home of the Bowie Baysox, just north of the proposed lacrosse project; and various facilities at the University of Maryland, among others. Lacrosse has more of an active community than many people realize, Neitzey said. “A lot of these tournaments go on and you don’t really see it, because it’s not on TV, it’s not Congressional Country Club hosting Tiger Woods,” Neitzey said. “At the same time, it’s filling hotel rooms and if we can get the stadium to fill more than just lacrosse — rugby, field hockey, cricket — that would benefit the county even further.” Hotels not only in Prince George’s but in neighboring Anne Arundel County would likely get business from a stadium, he said. Bowie has a handful of new hotels under development. One is proposed as part of a 72-acre project called Mill Branch Crossing from W.F. Chesley Real Estate of Crofton and New York-based Gibraltar Management. The Maryland Science and Technology Center at Melford is expected to house three Marriott International-branded hotels, as well. The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission has already planned some smaller-scale athletic fields for the Green Branch Park site, including softball and football fields currently under construction. If the study comes out in favor of the stadium, Peters’ goal is to have a rendering and map completed by year’s end, and to present the plans in the next legislative session. The Bayhawks would have to be the major funding source for the facility, he said. “Then we can move forward and start generating some revenue for the county and state,” he said. .