SOLANO COUNTY, Calif — California Forever is proposing a new regional sports complex in Solano County.
The sports complex would be part of a proposed new city between Rio Vista and Travis Air Force Base funded by Silicon Valley billionaires.
The proposed complex, called Solano Sports Complex, would be a multi-sport facility for youth and adult sports, including facilities for baseball and softball, football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, gymnastics, swimming and more. The goal is to host sports camps, leagues, and tournaments locally and regionally.
When asked how much the new complex will cost, California Forever representatives said they don't know the exact number but it will be in the millions and those funds won't come from taxpayers' pockets.
ABC10 reached out to Solano Together, a group formed to oppose the project, about the proposed sports complex and didn't hear back at the time of publishing.
The plan needs to be approved by voters to get this project off the ground.
“Yes, it would need voter approval for this facility to move forward. Up until then we have associated in and actually identified and deposited 500,000 dollars into a local account that will be used — the first 100,000 dollars will be used — with the community working group to start actually facilitating the design and the communication of what the sports complex will look like,” said Mike Fortney, the director of Partnerships at California Forever.
California Forever said a community working group will help get input from the community and inform the design of the sports complex.
California Forever recently said it has the signatures needed to appear on the November 2024 ballot. This is an initial step with several more before the project could be approved. Find more information on the process HERE.
ABC10 previously reached out to Solano Together and received this statement about the ballot initiative.
“With the deep pockets of their billionaire backers, it comes as no surprise that California Forever gathered enough signatures for their initiative. This doesn’t change the fact that recent polling shows that most voters are overwhelmingly rejecting this proposal that would increase traffic while paving over valuable agricultural lands and diverting valuable resources from existing communities. We look forward to working with our thousands of allies in the community to defeat this dangerous initiative in November.”
California Forever says they will make the partnerships they secured so far for the new city in terms of healthcare, entertainment and others public over the next few months.
Watch more on ABC10 | California Forever says it's collected enough signatures for the November ballot
