Some opposed to proposed North Huntingdon sports complex

Some North Huntingdon residents acknowledge a proposed $30 million sports complex would be an asset for the community, but they’re questioning whether it should go on public property.

“I don’t think anyone is against building a sports complex,” Jesse Adkins of Maple Lane told the township commissioners Wednesday.

But Adkins, whose five-acre parcel is adjacent to the public works property, was one of about 30 residents who voiced their disapproval with the township’s proposed lease with NHT Sports Complex LLC, which is a partnership between David Ponsonby and David Zugai.

“This is a one-sided deal,” Adkins said.

The construction of a sports complex, however, is an investment in the health and youth of the community, said Rosemary Cook of Ivanhoe Drive, a youth pastor.

“This complex will provide our youth with a place to grow,” said Cook, who was among about a dozen supporters of the project who spoke in favor of it during the four-hour meeting.

After several months and debate over the feasibility of leasing public land to a private for-profit business, the North Huntingdon commissioners might vote Oct. 16 on whether to approve the lease with NHT Sports Complex LLC, giving it 43 acres of land at the public works property off Route 30, said Commissioner Jason Atwood, board president.

Ponsonby and Zugai want a 29-year lease of the land for their four-phase project, which they estimate will cost $30 million. Their desire for an option to three more 29-year periods, for a total of 116 years at just $1 per year, has drawn strong opposition from opponents and some commissioners.

Jonathan Altman, the developers’ attorney, defended the $1-a-year lease price, saying the land is not pad-ready and it will cost millions of dollars to make it available for development. He contended there will be economic benefits for the township in terms of taxes on the improvements, economic benefits from the visitors to the site and the jobs it will create.

The complex would include an indoor soccer complex that would be used in partnership with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds professional soccer team.

Atwood, who has supported the project, said the commissioners’ Oct. 16 vote on the lease might depend on whether the developers revise the lease to include a clause that there will be no access roads from the sports complex to the adjoining neighborhoods.

Zugai said following the meeting developers will have to discuss the issue with their attorney, Jonathan Altman, to see if that can be done. He repeated several times during the meeting that there is no intention to connect the site to the neighborhoods.

NHT Sports Complex wants a one-year contingency period from the time it signs the lease to obtain the required approvals for the project. The developers want 30-day extensions for approvals and a six-month extension if there are any environmental conditions found on the site that require additional testing.

While residents living near the site opposed the project and some suggested moving it elsewhere, none of those expressed concern that moving it to another site would elicit the same opposition they have against putting the sports complex near their homes — such as more noise, more traffic and lights from the complex.

Commissioners Tom Hempel and Rich Gray restated their opposition to the project. Gray said nothing he heard from the developers moved the needle for him toward supporting it. Hempel said he opposed it because it involves renting township land.

Commissioners Eric Gass and Fran Bevan declined to say if they support or oppose the lease with Zugai and Ponsonby. Bevan said she still is weighing the information.

Commissioner Ron Zona has supported the proposed project.

Commissioner Zach Haigis questioned the benefits the township would receive from the project and the length of the lease without the township seeking any bids for the land. Haigis pointed out the developers had changed the proposed design of the complex several times.