GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A large youth sports complex in the county has been in the works for a while.

At a meeting Tuesday night, the Board of County Commissioners heard a presentation from County Manager Howard Wanamaker.

The county bought 250 acres northeast of Camp Blanding late last year for the Northeast Florida Multipurpose Youth Sports Complex, which is a private-public venture. Wanamaker said the $3 million matching grant from the state Department of Economic Opportunity is for fields, restrooms, parking and activities on a trail system.

Early renderings showed eight fields, with two ponds and space for wetlands. East of the parking area could be used for playground equipment or host food trucks, Wanamaker added.

“The biggest challenge has been this wetland delineation,” Wanamaker said.

However, there are constraints. Wanamaker cited inflation, soil conditions and the permitting timeline as restrictions on the project.

“Permitting is taking a great deal of time,” Wanamaker said. “We’re going to stop talking about weeks here, we’re talking months with the permitting.”

Wanamaker requested a one-year extension on the grant. He said he wanted time for updated site plans, a chance to rebid and time to conduct a budget analysis. The county has requested $500,000 from the state in additional funds for the project. “When you start a project, you have anticipations and you have some expectations,” Wanamaker said. “ … In regards to the wetland and the soil, we’ve been thinking out of the box with both contractor and developer.”

Commissioner Mike Cella has long been a proponent of the complex. He called the extension a good idea, but the wetlands on the property could lead to increased project costs.

“(The extension) may even give us some relief in terms of some of the financials that we’ve been seeing going up so high, with interest rates going up,” Cella said. “Perhaps with some of the costs coming down for building materials, it might actually work to our advantage to stretch some of that out.”

The project’s outline has five fields to the south, a buffer, and three fields to the north. Cella said he wanted the full eight fields to be featured when the county requests state assistance or uses.

“I think to be able to be competitive in youth sports and tourism, and get the kind of visitors we want to be able to come and spend money in the community and at the same time take up the hotel rooms and pay sales tax, we have to have at least the eight fields to be successful,” Cella said.

Commissioner Betsy Condon, who chaired the meeting, said a hitch of the three acres of wetlands was that it was expected to just be one acre. Condon said she didn’t want to settle for fewer fields.

“I talked to (Tourism Director Kimberley) Morgan and she said at least seven fields to host a tournament, so I think that’s important,” Condon said.

Commissioners directed county staff to apply for an extension and additional funding for the project.