Worcester County shares plans to expand popular athletic complex in Berlin
BERLIN, Md. – Worcester County is expanding their Northern Worcester Athletic Complex, which has become a hub for youth sports, to the point it’s outgrown the space.
On Tuesday, Oct. 27th, the county held a public meeting to showcase the master plan regarding the Northern Worcester Athletic Complex, and for local parents and community members to share suggestions, concerns, and questions regarding proposed upgrades.
Kelly Rados is the director of Worcester County Recreation and Parks, and explained the need for the expansion.
“They’ve maximized and over-maximized the space.” Said Rados. “So there is a need for our local youth with the teams that already call that complex their home.”
The proposed new additions include 6 pickleball courts, 2 turf multi-purpose fields, 280 new parking spaces, and renovations to the current facilities.
Community members also shared their requests, such as extended baseball fields, safer walkways, and preferred field surface material.
“We did our best to fit the needs of growing, like parking and fields.” Said Rados. “But they might have an idea that we didn’t think of that would work for them and be important to them.”
One of the teams who calls the fields home, is Berlin Little League, who’s executive board attended the meeting to share their requests. Barb Kohut is the Vice President of the organization, and voiced the teams suggestions.
“Our league has been growing every year ever since my kids were in T-ball.” Said Kohut. “We’ve seen the numbers increase every year, and the fields just can’t hold the capacity of the kids. And it’s youth sports. We want everyone to be involved.”
Kohut and the rest of the Berlin Little League board, hope the new expanded complex will continue to be a hub for talented young athletes.
“We’ve got a ton of state championships.” Said Kohut. “We want to host more state championships on our premise, and we also want to host regionals, and we need the capacity and the facility to do so.”
Public opinion will now be taken into account, before the master plan is presented to the Worcester County Commissioners.
