Ocean City Sports Complex Task Force talks funding, locations for project | News

Five properties on table, room tax increase crucial

Members of the Ocean City Sports Complex Task Force recently met and discussed the status of the project and plans for legislative initiatives to help bring it to fruition.

Mayor Rick Meehan opened the session with a review of the previous meeting’s agreed upon items. Those of which are to have an indoor and outdoor sports complex with an emphasis on lacrosse. The task force agreed that they need to acquire big enough property that there is room for expansion. Lastly, the town and task force will continue to work with the Maryland Stadium Authority.

“We have narrowed it down to five properties,” said Mayor Rick Meehan. “The goal is for two recommendations to be made to the Mayor and City Council.”

First on the agenda during the open session of the task force meeting was a breakdown of funding needed for a sports complex project. An overview of estimated development costs came out to $3 to $7 million for land acquisition, $76 to $88 million for indoor complex construction, $56 million for outdoor complex construction, and $160 to $176.5 million in total development costs.

“The state is looking for a project that is revenue neutral,” City Manager Terry McGean said. “Typically the state will not fund land acquisition.”

The group’s proposed solution to the development cost is to push for the state legislature to allow the county to raise the room tax from 5 percent to 6 percent, which Ocean City and Worcester County officials have been pursuing for years.

The 6 percent increase would allow the town to continue its 2.2 percent toward destination marketing, 3.4 percent to the town and the remaining 0.4 percent to funding the project, which will generate an estimated $31.1 million in revenue.

Currently, the 5 percent room tax generates a total of $25 million a year.

Both Meehan and McGean stressed that the Maryland legislature must be on board.

Last year, the legislation was proposed and passed the House, but died in a Senate committee, thus never making it to the floor. The other three Eastern Shore code counties — Caroline, Kent and Queen Anne’s — must also agree, and Meehan said they all on board.

Once Ocean City Is authorized to implement the tax increase, which will be tacked on to room tax rates, not properties, the Worcester County commissioners have to unanimously vote in favor of the increase for make it effective.

Another key piece of the project is to have an operator on board.

City Councilman John Gehrig, who sits on the task force, motioned that the group continue looking for an operator. It was seconded by several members including Bob Ciprietti of Touch of Italy and Berlin Mayor Zach Tyndall, and passed by the rest of the members in attendance.

It was also proposed that instead of waiting for July for the tax increase legislation to be implemented, the City Council should pass an ordinance allowing the city to spend $500 thousand on the project now to be reimbursed from a future bond issue.

A motion was made by Jack Burbage of Blue Water Development and seconded by Council President Matt James. The task force agreed, and the motion was passed.

Tyndall said he would also write a letter from the Town of Berlin to support the recommendation.

The group also agreed that the visitors and the county will pay for the sports complex project, which is why the 1 percent tax increase is detrimental to the project.

A version of this story appears in the Dec. 22, 2023, print edition of the OC Today.