The primary request from citizens has been to construct lit and turfed sport fields, with secondary uses including sport courts with options for pickleball, tennis and basketball, picnic shelters, trails and a new accessible playground.

The City purchased 30+ acres in Gig Harbor North for this project and has secured funding through several ways to make this come to fruition as soon as possible. This includes a partnership with the YMCA, who is currently negotiating with the City to lease the rights to the surface in order to construct lit and turfed multi-purpose sports fields (Phase 1A). The YMCA will fundraise from the community the entirety of the costs for design and construction costs of Phase 1A.

The City has committed to funding and constructing Phase 1B, which includes the picnic shelters, sports courts, trails and play structures. Phase 1B will be funded through a mix of taxes and a state grant for $206,000 allocated in the 2017 State Capital Budget.

With COVID, the YMCA has experienced a slowdown in fundraising, and has asked the city for additional time to begin permitting and construction on the project. Currently, the project (Phase 1A & 1B) is on schedule to be completed in 2024. 

It’s the YMCA’s intent to complete fundraising and construction to complete Phase 1A as soon as reasonable. The YMCA requested additional time from the City to complete Phase 1A because of the financial challenges facing the Y because of the pandemic and state restrictions. 

The YMCA will need to submit permits no later than June 2023 and start construction by early 2024 to meet the December 31, 2024 deadline. If the YMCA is unable to meet these project milestones, the Lease Agreement may be voided.  

Phase 1B is under the city’s control, which is why we can be more certain of the completion date on this portion. Developers have begun the grading process for the pickleball fields, and despite the YMCA timeline, the City has the ability to keep moving forward with the part of the project (Phase 1B) that we can.

Gig Harbor’s growth means there is a tremendous need for additional community recreational opportunities. Both the current Mayor and Council are in full support of bringing the fully imagined Gig Harbor Sports Complex to life.

We would all like the fields to be built as quickly as possible. Once the lease agreement has been approved by the City and the YMCA, the YMCA will initiate a capital campaign to raise the money necessary to complete design and construction of Phase 1A. Visit ymcapkc.org/give to contact the Y’s development team for more information.  

Read the full joint statement from the City and the YMCA here.