Mayor Joseph Solomon unveiled Tuesday sweeping renovations to the Mickey Stevens Sports Complex, which would be its first modifications since opening more than 40 years ago.

The complex at 975 Sandy Lane’s improvements would include an AstroTurf field stadium that can seat up to 4,000 people, an 8-lane tournament-level track, futsal [similar to soccer played on a hard surface], pickleball, tennis and basketball courts, refurbished baseball and soccer fields, a skate park, a looping walking trail and a playground and splash pad. A new parking lot will have 717 standard spaces and 32 handicapped spaces.

Solomon also included environmentally friendly parts of the plan such as solar car charging ports, car charging stations and energy efficient lighting. The facility has not been updated since opening in the 1970s.

Solomon proposed the construction of a third skating rink in February when the US Synchronized Skating Championships were held at the Dunkin Donuts Center. He said Tuesday a third rink could also be part of the plan although drawings didn’t show it.

The complex will also become the home field for both Pilgrim and Toll Gate High Schools in order to save money for the school department and to prevent the city from having to build more facilities at the schools.

“Today this announcement, these pictures that we will be unveiling, is a game changer for this complex,” Solomon said at the Mickey Stevens Sports Complex. “It will dramatically increase recreational opportunities for our city, enhance our quality of life and reinvigorate the community.”

In 2006, Warwick voters approved a $7 million bond to renovate the complex, but the 2008 recession put a damper on the plan. Solomon said the bond would be the “corpus” to funding and that the city would also seek federal and state grants as well as business sponsorships. A total cost estimate was not provided. Solomon explained plans have not been finalized, and costs would not known until the project goes out for bids. The Warwick City Council would need to approve the usage of any additional funding.

Around the time of the bond’s approval, an outside engineering firm conducted an environmental study on the area that in a prior life was the site of a dump and city incinerator. There is also piping under the fields. Solomon said that the plan will consider what is under certain areas of the field, and may place a parking lot instead of a court over a vulnerable area, for example. Solomon would like to move the Department of Public Works (DPW) to a single large building with offices and garages to the rear of the site so as to have athletic facilities on Sandy Lane. The city compost station would also be relocated closer to airport land, he said.

Solomon said the facility could attract teams and championships tournaments that would pay to use the complex. In 2019, Warwick earned direct revenue spending [hotel rentals, use of city restaurants and other businesses] from several sporting events held in Warwick, including $796,000 from Little League 9-10 Baseball Tournament New England and Atlantic Champions, $278,000 from the American Contract Bridge League, $77,000 from Varsity Spirit Cheer Camp, $149,000 from the Northeast Regional Quidditch Championships and $326,000 from the Itri Square Baseball Tournament. Rhode Island earned about $32 million in direct revenue spending overall in the 2019 fiscal year, according to data provided by the administration.

“We’re generating revenue,” Solomon said. “And again, we’re generating revenue, revenue generating activities to our local businesses. It also generates tax dollars to our office and it generates fees for utilization of these facilities. Fees help pay for the utilization, the construction and maintenance of services.”

Solomon told the Warwick Beacon he expects complex construction to begin next year. The project timeline lists the creation of a solidified master plan in a year’s time, followed by design refinement, searching for funding, opening construction bidding and finally, construction. Solomon said the entire project may take multiple phases due to its scope. Since some of the project’s details have not been confirmed yet, Solomon said the completion date is open-ended, but he wants to use all of the available land for the project.

When asked if he would appoint a steering committee or another sort of project leadership, Solomon said that he would like to instead enter a collective partnership with businesses and sports organizations. Solomon explained that one piece of advice he took was expanding the six-lane running track into an eight-lane one.

Speaking the press conference, Kristen Adamo, president and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, said that the complex’s central location in both the city and the state makes it an ideal location for tourism and community development alike. She added that the industry has been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she is glad that Warwick is looking towards the future.

“Sports is the fastest growing segment of our business,” Adamo said. “It accounts any given year between 30 and 40 percent of the work we do.”

City Councilman Timothy Howe, who represents Ward 3 that the complex is located in, said that he has heard constituents ask him about the complex’s state since he was first elected. He believes investing in this project would give the local community something to look forward to amid the pandemic.

“When I heard that they were moving forward I was just ecstatic because as I said this is something I've heard from day one, like why is there so much wasted space when we could be doing so much more?” Howe said. “And I agree with that as I raised my kids right over there.”