Background
Gig Harbor has experienced tremendous growth which has created a need for additional community recreational opportunities, specifically sports fields. The City plans to work with partners to develop all or a portion of 30+ acres in Gig Harbor North into a large regional park/ Sports Complex.
Previous Visioning Exercises (please see Background Information Section) conducted in 2013 and 2015 concluded with the primary request from citizens being lit and turfed sports fields. Secondary uses preferred by the community include sports courts (pickleball, tennis, basketball), picnic shelters, trails, and a new accessible playground.
The Gig Harbor Sports Complex has been the City’s number one legislative priority for three years (2016, 2017 and 2018). As such, the City has been built support for the project in Olympia and received $206,000 for the project in the 2017 State Capital Budget. Additionally, the Sports Complex was identified through the 2016 City of Gig Harbor Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan as a very high priority. As such, the City Council appropriated $50,000 for a Master Plan in the City’s 2017-2018 budget (Parks Development Objective number two).
The City has applied with RCO for two grant opportunities (Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program and Land and Water Conservation Fund) and should hear by June 2021 if we were successful with both. The design/permitting for Phase 1B is included in the City’s 2021 Budget.
