Allegheny County, soccer group work to develop 78-acre sports complex

24 May 2016

A sports complex could start taking shape this fall at the former Montour Junction railroad yard if Allegheny County successfully negotiates a development and management agreement with the owner of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County board members Friday authorized county officials to enter into an exclusive 120-day negotiation with Friends of Pittsburgh Soccer, a group headed by Riverhounds owner Tuffy Shallenberger.

Negotiations will seek to come up with an agreement in which Shallenberger's group will help develop the property, and will retain management, maintenance and some usage rights at the complex, said Robert Hurley, director of the Allegheny County Economic Development Department.

“We'd like to see this under construction by the fall,” Hurley said. “It's been way too long.”

In 2008, the Sports Legacy Foundation deeded the land — 78 acres straddling portions of Robinson, Coraopolis and Moon — to the authority for $1, requiring it to build fields for nontraditional sports such as rugby, soccer, lacrosse and Gaelic football.

Efforts to develop the proposed complex have been going on for years, often slowed by problems related to funding and environmental permits, Hurley said.

Initial plans for the site call for at least three synthetic fields, parking infrastructure and other improvements. The project's total cost is expected to be $10 million to $15 million. The county has secured about $2 million in state, federal and foundation contributions toward that end.

Hurley said officials hope to use that money — along with in-kind development contributions from Shallenberger, who owns Connellsville-based Shallenberger Construction Inc. — as leverage to obtain additional outside grants and funding.

Shallenberger could not be reached for comment.

Hurley said any development and management deal reached between the parties will give some usage rights to the recreational teams affiliated with the Riverhounds, while determining the complex's availability to the public.

 

Source : triblive.com