Bryan City Council approves $17M contract to build indoor tennis and multipurpose facility

Todd McDaniel presented this rendering of a multipurpose facility with indoor tennis at Tuesday's Bryan City Council meeting.
PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF BRYAN

The Eagle
Emma Lawson
October 11, 2023

Progress is being made on the Midtown Park multipurpose facility and indoor tennis center as the Bryan City Council approved a contract with SpawGlass Construction Corporation at its Tuesday meeting.

During previous meetings, city councilors, alongside Texas A&M University staff, approved the construction of the multipurpose facility in Midtown Park. After negotiations, city staff selected SpawGlass Construction to build the center and agreed on a $17 million budget to present during Tuesday’s meeting. The facility would be multipurpose, creating a space for local indoor sports and events including tennis, volleyball or pickleball.

Economic Development Specialist Todd McDaniel spoke during the regular agenda about the facility and how the contract was developed.

“We went through a process of allowing firms to submit their qualifications with a deadline of Aug. 31,” he said. “We then, in September … interviewed the firms and we selected SpawGlass due to history and experience.”

McDaniel predicted the facility to pay for itself in around six years, based on information from other similar facilities such as the Legends Event Center in Bryan.

“You can look at [the rendering] and see it’s kind of a mini-Legends,” he said. “If you recall, the economic impact of this project at the end of year one was almost $3 million.”

McDaniel said pre-construction design/construction fee is around $1.7 million while the build will cost, at maximum, around $15.2 million.

“I will note the $17 million does not include furniture, fixtures and equipment,” he said.

Although they would be working under a tight deadline, McDaniel said he has confidence in the SpawGlass team.

“The reason why this is so important and we’ve worked so hard as a team at the staff level to move this along is that we have to have this project substantially completed by August 2025, which is 24 months under the interlocal agreement,” he said.

Some Bryan citizens spoke against the contract during the citizen hearing portion of Tuesday’s meeting, including Bryan resident Debbie Miller.

“[The citizens] asked for bike paths, for green space and walking trails,” she said. “I live by there and we have concrete upon concrete. You are not only damaging the land but you are going against what the citizens requested.”

Miller also brought up concerns around the cost and asked councilors to consider other options.

“I don’t think we can spend another $17 million,” she said. “I understand you’re working with A&M. I’m sure they have plenty of land they can purchase for their facility.”

Bryan resident Patrick Giammalva spoke against the contract and said he was frustrated that Bryan was not focusing on more pressing issues in the city.

“Y’all keep talking about the future of Bryan, let’s talk about the problems now,” he said. “There is a severe traffic problem at the intersection of Villa Maria and South College. I can’t understand why y’all would spend all this money [for the facility].”

Giammalva also wished the park had more natural features and for the preexisting features to get more attention.

“We need to build a big waterpark in that park. We need that center section designed like Aggie Park with waterfalls and nature trails. Bring back some of the wildlife,” he said.

Councilors were unable to respond at this time. Councilor Marca Ewers-Shurtleff addressed some of these concerns by asking McDaniel about the location of the facility and possibly moving it to be closer to Williamson Road.

“Where it’s located right now, is that subject to change? Or have we started making real plans there?” She said. “We’re trying to preserve as much contiguous green space as possible.”

McDaniel said they still could move locations, but believes the lake would be critical for drainage.

“I can assure you that our team in engineering is looking at this and thinking about how to handle drainage regionally,” he said. “This will be in the investment that we make in the lake, which is going to be an awesome lake one day. It’s still in the process of development.”

Councilor James Edge expressed his appreciation for all the work completed on planning and developing future amenities in the park, including a playground and open green space for festivals.

Mayor Bobby Gutierrez said he looks forward to the benefits the multipurpose facility will bring the city of Bryan.

“We will be looking forward to a whole lot of stuff, not just tennis but it’s multiuse, just like the Legends Event Center,” he said. “A&M is going to be paying the majority cost of the construction, so the citizens of Bryan and Brazos Valley get a lot of benefit. They’re really using us as a corporate partner.”

Councilors passed the agenda item with a majority vote.