Baltimore County officials today will unveil a new multipurpose athletic field at the Spring Grove Hospital Center bordering Catonsville and Arbutus, mitigating what they call a serious field shortage.
The lacrosse, football and soccer practice field will be shared by the Western School of Technology and the county?s Department of Recreation and Parks.
County Executive Jim Smith will officially open the field in a ceremony today at the hospital, where he will be joined by other elected officials and Western?s varsity lacrosse team.
“I think it?s very exciting,” said Council Member Sam Moxley, D-District 1. “We?re in desperate need of ballfields, and the school will be able to use this and so will the rec council.”
The field is the product of dirt left over from Beltway construction at Wilkens Avenue over the past five years, officials said. The field is the second “good news” for athletic fields in Moxley?s district this week, he said, after Smith announced funding for a synthetic turf field at Catonsville High School on Tuesday.
Moxley said the field is not indicative of other future uses for the 200-acre hospital site, which has been the subject of debate since a 2001 state plan recommended the consolidation of all hospital services onto a 41-acre parcel, opening the remainder to development. Del. James Malone Jr., D-District 12A, said he?s hoping to secure 50 acres of designated wetlands on the property to create “mega, mega multipurpose fields.”
Before it can be declared surplus, the state?s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must first determine that the property exceeds its needs, which hasn?t happened yet, according to a department spokesman. But other county delegates said they worry the property could become the site of a juvenile detention center.
In February, Smith called for a task force to brainstorm future uses to avert that possibility. During two public input meetings, residents and developers suggested alternative site uses, including recreational fields, hotels and restaurants, expansion of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County?s campus, housing, and relocation of the county district court or Wilken?s police precinct office.
The task force will compile the suggestions submitted during two public input meetings and will prepare a report due to Smith June 1, said task force chairman Scott Graham.
