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WEIMAR — Weimar City Council moved forward with plans for the city’s long-awaited sports complex Aug. 13, despite not yet having enough funding to complete the approximately $8 million project.
Plans for the sports complex have been in development for several years but have faced repeated delays, largely because of funding. The city recently received an anonymous donation that, combined with other funding sources, brings approximately $2 million to the project.
The additional funding prompted the city to hold a community presentation Aug. 3, followed by the first approvals needed to move the project forward during the Aug. 13 council meeting.
Funding, however, remains the project’s primary obstacle. The city is awaiting word on a $750,000 grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but council members indicated they did not want to continue delaying construction while waiting to secure enough money for the entire project.
Instead, the city plans to begin with portions it can currently afford and add to the complex as additional funding becomes available.
“I know we’re going to scale it down — the big question when we were in the meeting was do we have enough funds,” Councilwoman Christina Behrens asked. “I know some people are like hey we’re going to start it or are we going to be able to keep moving along with it because of the financial aspect of it.”
City Manager David Mason said the city faced a decision between beginning the project with the funding available or abandoning the project and returning the donated funds.
“I guess we either start or we scrap the whole project and give the money back. Because there’s no other choice. At this point the donor wants to see something happen with his money,” Mason said.
Under the current plan, available funding would be used to construct two baseball fields and parking, with remaining funds going toward restrooms and concession facilities.
