Baltimore County officials plan to tap donations from the Baltimore Ravens and a prominent local developer to build two new artificial turf fields in Towson.
Families have complained recently that recreational space in the community is scarce.
Artificial turf fields are to be installed in the stadiums at Towson High School and the Carver Center for Arts and Technology. Officials also plan to tear up the concrete Patriot Plaza outside the Circuit Courthouse to turn it into a park.
The projects are expected to cost $4.6 million, paid through a combination of tax dollars and private donations.
The Ravens are contributing $200,000 to the fields. The team has spent millions building seven artificial turf fields in Baltimore City over the years, a spokesman said. The Ravens helped pay for an artificial turf field at Northwest Regional Park when the team built its headquarters in Owings Mills.
Caves Valley Partners, whose plans for a 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Towson Row project on York Road are being reviewed by the county, will chip in $200,000 toward the fields.
Caves Valley principal Arthur Adler said in a statement that his company is "committed to an exciting and vibrant Towson community" and "delighted" to help pay for fields. He declined to comment further.
Don Mohler, chief of staff and spokesman for County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, said accepting Caves Valley's donation does not create a conflict for officials who are reviewing Towson Row.
"Their plans will be considered like any other plans that come before the development review process," Mohler said.
Mohler said neither Caves Valley nor the Ravens will receive naming rights for the fields.
The Towson Recreation Council and the Towsontown Recreation Council also are putting money into the fields, and the Carver Center Foundation, which supports the school, is working on a donation, county officials said.
The cost of the two artificial turf fields is expected to be $1.6 million.
"When you have entities willing to partner with you, it contributes to a positive quality of life in Baltimore County," Mohler said.
About 200 residents packed a county planning meeting last month to complain that developers don't pay enough in fees that fund open space projects.
Caves Valley was cited by residents as an example. The company is scheduled to pay $55,000 in fees for Towson Row.
The project at Patriot Plaza – a concrete-and-brick area between the Circuit Court and county government offices – is expected to cost $3 million. A fountain in the plaza was shut off last year after it started leaking into underground offices and a tunnel that connects the buildings.
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