Two baseball/softball fields and a soccer field could soon be added to southeastern Carroll County’s existing inventory of about 70 athletic fields.

Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is working on a lease agreement that would allow Carroll County’s Department of Recreation and Parks to use and maintain an existing ball field and surrounding land at Springfield Hospital Center in Sykesville, according to Jeff Degitz, director of Carroll County Department of Recreation and Parks.

In the meantime, the state may grant an “entry agreement” to give the Freedom Area Recreation Council access to use the existing field and maintain it, said Larry McAvoy, deputy director of the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s capital planning division.

Southeastern Carroll currently has 38 athletic fields at county schools and 19 fields at county-operated parks for a total of 57 fields; and also leases 12 ball fields from Fairhaven Retirement Community.

Ten more athletic fields are in the works at Krimgold Park in Woodbine (nine) and at the new South Carroll Senior & Community Center (one).

“We feel that we have a good inventory, but we feel that there is an ongoing need to add to that inventory,” Degitz said.

The added fields could help reduce wear and tear on existing fields as well as provide space for more people to play, he said, and upkeep of the hospital fields would also provide an improved area for Springfield patients to enjoy.

The idea is something that the Freedom Area Recreation Council initiated about five years ago, Degitz said, but recent comments by Freedom Area Citizens’ Council President Ellen Dix — separate from the rec council — helped bring the issue back to the surface.

Dix said FACC is “delighted” about the park proposal, but she said the progress is primarily thanks to the Board of County Commissioners, which forwarded a letter onto the state officials about the ball fields, as well as Paula Langmead, chief executive officer of Springfield.

Creating a lease shouldn’t be difficult, McAvoy said. The state has a similar agreement with an Anne Arundel recreation council to use fields at Crownsville Hospital Center for $1 per year.

“We can certainly do the same thing with Carroll County,” McAvoy said. If a lease is ready to go this week, the state’s Board of Public Works could review it at its Aug. 26 meeting, he said.

Most likely, the lease would cover the start of next year’s sports seasons, but the temporary entry permission would allow teams to play baseball there as early as this fall, he said.

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