The Woodlands Township board of directors voted 6-0 to approve a task order for a new study for an indoor recreation facility during its Oct. 22 meeting. Burditt Consultants was chosen to work on the study, which will have three phases. Possible uses for the facility include recreation and sports, the board said.
What you need to know
The approved task order will determine feasibility rather than begin construction, Chief Operating Officer Chris Nunes said. The $231,600 feasibility study will be funded by the township's parks needs assessment reserve.
Board Chair Brad Bailey said he doesn’t want the facility to compete with businesses in the community, but it could serve as a multiuse project through a possible partnership with Conroe ISD.
“Partnering with the Conroe ISD for schools that are in our area … would be very important to us because they're in the township for football, band, drill team, cheerleading … etc.,” Bailey said.
The details and terms of a possible partnership won't be considered by CISD until after the feasibility study is complete, according to the discussion.
Also of note
The first phase of the project will look at three different scenarios for a field house, Nunes said. The size of the facility will depend on community needs and costs yet to be determined. Nunes said in the initial phase, Burditt will develop ideas on design for the board to review. Phase 2 will look at operational costs and possible revenue. Nunes said Conroe ISD officials had an interesting perspective on how to balance public access to the facility.
"When you look at a traditional facility, one of the hardest times to actually book [it] is the time during the [8 a.m. to 3 p.m.] time period, so if we can actually have a fair amount of those hours consumed already and that are paid for on a per hour basis or some other formula, then that goes very well to manage the impact from a budget, revenue and operational cost standpoint," Nunes said.
What else?
The biggest challenge with planning a sports facility is parking, Nunes said. However, board director Shelley Sekula-Gibbs said that, as the township is looking for ways to decrease traffic, a new facility could be a good way to incorporate transportation discussions as well.
"I would suggest when Burditt looks at this [study], they look at both sides of the road [and] connectivity with both sides like with a Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 and looking at it as a real project for the next 20, 30 years," Sekula-Gibbs said.
