Intercollegiate and recreational sports are important and traditional elements of the student experience at the University of New Hampshire. Currently a high percentage of UNH students participate in intramural, club sports, and intercollegiate programs and it is necessary for the University to provide safe and appropriate facilities for these activities. As a land grant institution, the University commonly connects its programs and resources with external organizations to enhance programs and fulfill UNH's public service mission. This helps UNH meet student needs without heavy reliance on increases to student fees or funds from New Hampshire taxpayers. The Seacoast United Soccer Club/UNH Project is a unique opportunity to improve the number and condition of athletic fields at UNH.

UNH offers a broad based athletics program at the Division I level and a wide array of club and intramural sports. These programs seek excellence in all of their offerings but are hampered by the inadequate conditions and number of athletic fields.

Gender equity is an important national issue and a priority for UNH. The addition of these facilities will significantly improve the women’s soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse programs.

The additional field space will benefit all 24 intercollegiate programs and recreational sports, as well as local youth groups, by adding a great deal of flexibility to overall scheduling of practices and games on both the current and new fields.

Certain sports that can not now host intercollegiate contests due to poor facilities will be able to do so in the future.

The Parties and the Project

The Moore Field, owned by UNH, is a 132-acre parcel located off Mast Road-Route 155A. Of the 132 acres, roughly 90 acres are cleared and currently used by the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture to grow corn. The Upper Field is part of the UNH Intercollegiate Athletic complex off of Main St.

At the Moore Field, the new complex is estimated to occupy less than 30 acres plus a buffer area. The project to construct 9 _ fields at the Moore Field and 2 fields near the Field house is made possible by the offer of SUSC to invest an estimated $6 million in exchange for permission of the University to use the fields and related facilities under certain conditions. UNH is providing no up-front capital.

Seacoast United Soccer Club (SUSC) is a 501(c) 3 public organization operated exclusively to foster amateur sport, primarily soccer. It has a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary, Seacoast United Soccer Club, Inc., which owns its Hampton facility. It currently serves 400 youth, many of whom reside in the Durham-Lee-Madbury area.

Of the 9 _ fields at the Moore Field site, one would be High Performance, two would be Astroplay, and the remainder would be grass. In any given season, at least two of the grass fields would be resting and not in use. At the Upper Field, both would be Astroturf and lighted. At the Moore Field, as many as four fields would be lighted.

At the Moore Field, related facilities will include four sets of bleachers. Underneath the stands will be locker rooms, restrooms, concession areas, offices, and storage space. A lighted pedestrian walkway will connect the complex to the University’s West Edge parking lot. Design and construction drawings are under development and expected to be available for review in June.

The annual maintenance and operating costs of the project will be the financial responsibility of UNH and are estimated at $200,000 a year. UNH expects the project to generate at least $100,000 a year in revenue. The UNH Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the UNH Department of Recreational Sports will share the estimated net annual operating costs of $100,000.

SUSC will pay a $200,000 one-time fee to UNH at the start of the project. This is in addition to the estimated $6 million investment being made by SUSC. SUSC will raise the needed capital through loans, grants, and supporters.

The ownership and ultimate control of the real property will remain with UNH. Which of the parties will hold title to the leasehold improvements has not yet been determined. Should SUSC hold that title during the term of the agreement, title would automatically revert to UNH at termination

The current timeline calls for construction to start no sooner than late-August, depending in large part on the length of time required to obtain DES approval.

As required by policy, the USNH Board of Trustees Financial Affairs Committee approved the project on March 14, 2001. SUSC and UNH are currently negotiating the language in a Memorandum of Intent that both parties would sign. Based on that MOI, a full set of legal papers would be drawn up and executed.

The Legal Questions and UNH Communication with Town of Durham

The land in question will continue to be used for public purposes which are statutorily and traditionally governmental in nature, but because there will be a substantial change in use from agriculture to athletics, the relevant process for Town involvement as set forth in RSA 674:54 is as follows:

The University is required to provide written notice to the Town of the substantial change in use at least 60 days before the start of construction. This notification is to include "…plans, specifications, explanations of the proposed changes available at the time, a statement of the governmental nature of the use… and a proposed construction schedule."

The Town has 30 days to hold a public hearing, to which the University must send representatives to make a presentation of the information.

Following the hearing, the Town has 30 days in which to "issue nonbinding written comments relative to conformity or nonconformity of the proposal.."

Regarding the planned soccer project, the University first wrote to the Town on August 28, 2000. This letter was not intended to trigger the process above, as it was premature to do so. For example, the site selection process had not been completed at that time. As a courtesy, however, the University felt it important that the Town have early notice that the exploratory discussions with SUSC were occurring.

On December 12, 2000 the University wrote a second letter to the Town. This letter provided more information. The letter reads in part "I would ask that you advise the Town Council of this proposal and set into motion any planning issues for us to discuss. I will also appreciate your efforts to engage any neighbors in appropriate discussions. Finally, I would ask that you outline any interest the Town might have to use this facility should this proposal go forward. Naturally, UNH and SUSC uses of the fields would take priority, but there may be opportunities for the benefits to extend further into the community." This letter was an informal invitation to talk and was not worded to officially trigger the RSA 674:54 process.

UNH received no reply to either the August 28, 2000 or December 12, 2000 letters.

On February 22, 2001, UNH wrote a third letter to the Town formally triggering the RSA 674.54 process. The letter was accompanied by a site plan, which indicated the proposed placement of the fields and related facilities. Because the site drawing was over-sized (not the standard 8 _ x 11), it was hand-delivered in a cardboard tube.

On April 18, 2001, nearly 60 days after the February 22, 2001 letter was delivered, the public hearing was held before the Planning Board. The hearing lasted three hours and the University representatives received a wide variety of inputs.

The University recently offered to attend a regular meeting of the Planning Board in June, when the final plans are available, and to seek further input from the Board.

The Environmental Issues

Early in the talks with SUSC, the University explored several possible sites on UNH land. For various reasons (access, environmental concerns, infrastructure, topography) the Moore Fields site was identified as the only feasible site.

UNH made an initial inquiry to DES regarding any needed wetlands permits. On February 4, 2000 Ms. Dori Wiggin wrote to UNH indicating that a large portion of the Moore Fields was designated as protected wetlands in her records and indicating that it would be very unlikely that DES would grant the needed permits.

Subsequently, a highly respected soils scientist and the founder of Gove Environmental Services, James Gove, was engaged by SUSC with the concurrence of UNH to analyze the site. Mr. Gove presented his data and conclusions to DES, UNH, and SUSC officials at the Moore Field site on or about August 22, 2000. At the conclusion of this meeting, DES officials offered the preliminary opinion that the project could quite probably proceed, because it would occupy a predominantly uplands section of the Moore Field. It was agreed that SUSC and UNH would have to submit formal applications to DES when the site plan and construction specifications were complete and the full DES review and approval process would have to occur. UNH has no written correspondence from DES confirming that discussion, but DES officials have repeatedly reconfirmed it. The oral opinion is not binding on DES.

To summarize the steps in the DES permitting process, five copies of the plan and wetlands delineation will be filed along with the application with the Town Clerk. One copy goes to the Durham Conservation Commission, one copy to the Planning Board, one copy to the Town Council, one copy stays in the Office of the Town Clerk to so that abutters may review it, and one copy goes to DES. The Conservation Commission will meet to discuss the plan and application and will walk the site. The Commission will send its comments and recommendations to DES, which will then complete the remainder of the process, consulting other State agencies as may be appropriate.

Concerns have been expressed about the impact of the Moore Field complex on migratory waterfowl and on other bird species. On the advice of Mr. Gove, UNH and SUSC currently believe that the project will not have a detrimental effect on this wildlife, in large part because most of the Moore Field will be untouched. Mr. Gove is attempting to gain the advice of NH Fish and Game on this matter. Also, SUSC has engaged ornithologist Mark West of West Environmental to assist in the analysis of potential impacts and mitigation of those impacts on birds.

Concerns have been expressed about the impact of the Moore Field complex on the Oyster River. The plan calls for a state-of-the-art drainage system to insure the quality of water finding its way to the Oyster River. Mr. Gove has indicated that the water in the manmade ponds that would be part of the drainage system would not endanger wildlife entering them.

Concerns have been expressed about the loss of agricultural land. This complex, including the fields themselves and a buffer zone, would remove roughly 40 acres from agriculture. UNH is in the process of purchasing 72 acres at another site in Madbury-Durham, which will be used for agriculture. These 72 acres were on the market and available for residential development. Hence, the net effect of this project is to add to the agricultural inventory by roughly 32 acres.

Concerns have been expressed about the ways in which UNH will use the newly acquired land. The College of Life Sciences and Agriculture will use it to grow feed crops for the dairy herd and other animals owned by UNH, as well as for horticultural research. Due to the decision of the University to invest in a significant upgrade to its manure management system, nutrients used to fertilize the crops will have significantly reduced odor. The College is committed to practicing sound nutrient management techniques and makes every effort to conduct farming operations with a minimum impact on abutters.

Infrastructure, Scheduling, and Impact on Neighbors

The West Edge lot has 1,180 parking spaces and is accessed from Main Street, close to the Rt. 4-bypass intersection. The bulk of SUSC use of the Moore Field complex will occur between March and November, depending upon the weather and soil conditions. They will use the fields late afternoon through early evenings. These are times that there is the least demand on UNH parking facilities. At other times the fields may be available for other purposes.

In general, no more than six fields would be in use at the same time. At such times, it is estimated that 200 cars would enter the West Edge and park and another 100 cars would drive through to drop off and pick up players. The West Edge lot is largely used by UNH students who live on campus and by commuters. With the exception of a roughly two-week period in early September when the University opens each year, this lot normally has at least 200 empty spaces by late afternoon and into the evening. Beginning next year, the University is tightening its policies regarding the ability of freshman living on campus to obtain parking permits. This is expected to reduce the demand for West Edge spaces.

In some newspaper reports there have been estimates that this project would bring 150,000 to 400,000 additional cars to Durham. In fact, during the roughly 7 to 8 month season conducive to outdoor play, we estimate the maximum at closer to 25,000 to 40,000 cars.

UNH and SUSC will design into the plan all feasible means to shield neighbors from the impact of lighted fields and noise.

Water for the fields and related facilities will be supplied by a well. Electricity and sewer routing have yet to be determined.

In order to prevent vehicles from parking on Mast Road to observe the activity or to drop off players, UNH and SUSC will design fences and landscape barriers.

Concerns have been expressed about the safety of the pedestrian walkway. UNH and SUSC will develop a security plan for that area.

Potential Benefits to the Community

Four community-based groups have been identified as having potential interest in access to the enhanced and expanded facilities resulting from the project. These are Oyster River School System, Oyster River Youth Association, Oyster River Travel Soccer Association, and the Durham Parks and Recreation Committee.

The UNH Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and the UNH Director of Recreational Programs are meeting with these groups to ascertain their interest and to develop a proposal for how these groups may have special access to the facilities.

UNH is prepared to grant these groups a 25% discount from the usage fees charged to other third-party users, as well as first priority among third-party users.

Durham businesses may be the beneficiaries of increased customers.