Santa Maria’s sports complex is still on track, city officials say

For sports enthusiasts like Pete Adame, founder of the Crusaders Football Club, the excitement about the long-awaited sports complex on South Depot Street in Santa Maria has faded over the years.

“Yeah, [I’ve] pretty much forgotten all about it actually. And you know, it’s a shame,” he said.

Adame says his club has practiced and competed on various fields, but he wishes Santa Maria had more quality options.

“I would not say there are quality fields, you know, there are school fields, which are not usually in the best shape, but when you don’t have a choice, you know, that’s where you play,” Adame explains.

Recently, Community Reporter Olivia Gonzalez Britt looked into Santa Maria City Council records and found out council members rejected all bids for the project.

To understand what this meant, Gonzalez Britt spoke with Dennis Smitherman from Parks and Recreation.

“The bids come in and we have a base bid, and then we have all these little extras called add alts. And the way the bid was written was the total bid. The base bids all came in good,” Smitherman explained.

To put it simply, rejecting the bids doesn’t mean the project is less likely — it’s actually closer than ever.

“We could see something happen maybe later this year or early next year, to have a shovel ceremony,” Smitherman says.

He adds that since securing $1 million in state funding last December, they’re now close to the full $12 million needed to complete the project.

“There’s some extras that we will hopefully be able to add on later with more funding when it becomes available,” Smitherman says.

The project, finalized just a couple of weeks ago, will feature four sports fields, playgrounds, pickleball courts, trails, a snack bar and restrooms.

For Adame, he says seeing the complex come to life would be a game-changer for the community.

“It’ll be a benefit to all the kids and even the adult leagues.”