Sports and Wellness Complex

On Wednesday, July 24, The Charles County Board of Commissioners was joined by the Charles County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism and the Charles County Economic Development Department to celebrate the county’s purchase of the former Sears Building at the St. Charles Towne Center. The building will be converted into a sports and wellness complex serving the entire community.

The purchase of the property, which totals 8 acres, was tied to the result of a comprehensive study conducted two years ago by the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism on county recreation opportunities. The study found a great need for increased sports and wellness activities, especially in the Waldorf area.

Visit here for the full press release.

Community Engagement

The first phase of community engagement for the Sports and Wellness Complex project occurred in January 2025. An in-person community meeting was held on January 29, 2025 to discuss initial plans for the project and gather resident feedback. An online survey was launched and ran from January 29-February 17, 2025.

The second phase of community engagement for this project occurred in March 2025. A virtual community meeting was held on March 24, 2025 and an in-person community meeting was held on March 26, 2025 to share community feedback that was gathered from the online survey and answer resident questions/concerns.

The third phase of community engagement for this project occurred in May 2025. An in-person community meeting was held on May 14, 2025 and featured interactive tabletop discussions on specific amenities and programming in this exciting new facility.

Residents can check out recordings from the community meetings under the "Resources" section below and can also access presentations under the "Supporting Documents" section on the right-hand side of this page.

Resources:

1. Sports and Wellness Complex Press Conference Recording from July 24, 2024 - Tune in to watch the press conference that was held in July 2024 to announce the county's purchase of the former Sears building.
2. Let's Get Fiscal: Sports and Wellness Complex - Tune in to learn more about how the Sports and Wellness Complex project came to be and how it is being paid for.
3. First In-person Community Meeting Recording from January 29, 2025 - Tune in to watch the presentation from the first in-person community meeting held in January 2025 to discuss initial plans and gather feedback for the project.
4. Virtual Community Meeting Recording from March 24, 2025 - Tune in to watch the presentation from the second community meeting held in March 2025 to share communtiy feedback that has been gathered thus far.
5. In-person Community Meeting Recording from May 14, 2025 - Tune in to watch the presentation from the third community meeting held in May 2025 to discuss project updates.
6. Board of County Commissioners Meeting Recording from December 9, 2025 - Tune in for an update from the Department of Recreation,Parks, and Tourism to the Board of County Commissioners on the current status and future direction of the Sports and Wellness Complex project.

To learn more about the public engagement process for input on the future complex, check out the embedded video below: