The Maryland SoccerPlex is a sports complex in

Germantown, Maryland Germantown is an urbanized census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 91,249 as of 2020 U.S. Decennial Census, Germantown is the third most populous place in Maryland, after the city of Baltimore ...

, although its mailing address is

Boyds, Maryland Boyds is an unincorporated community in rural Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, located approximately north of Washington, D.C. Its ZIP Code is 20841. According to the United States 2010 Census, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) f ...

. The facility, completed in 2000 and operated by the Maryland Soccer Foundation (MSF), has 21 natural grass fields, 3 artificial turf fields, and 8 indoor convertible basketball/volleyball courts. In the park there are also two miniature golf courses, a splash park, a driving range, an archery course, community garden, model boat pond, a bike park featuring a linked jump line and a pump track, tennis center, and a swim center.

Planning and funding

The Maryland SoccerPlex was completed in 2000 with $15 million raised by a group of

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

soccer parents led by

Discovery Communications Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chann ...

chairman

John Hendricks John Samuel Hendricks (born March 29, 1952)"John Hendricks: An Oral History," The Cable Center, September 2, 2003. is an American businessman and is the founder and former chairman of Discovery, Inc. (now a part of Warner Bros. Discovery) a broa ...

and his wife Maureen (also co-founders of

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Germantown, Maryland, that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's Uni ...

soccer team) through private donations and government-backed bonds. It was built as a private-public partnership between the Maryland Soccer Foundation, created in 1997 to build and operate the complex, and the

Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland. History The commission was formed in 1927 by the Maryland G ...

. However, initial revenues fell short of projections and the foundation took on $14 million in debt, nearly triple the amount projected, and the Hendrickses donated a further $6 million in 2005 to stabilize funding and build additional fields.

Overview

The main stadium holds 4,000 and was home to the

during its time in the

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

, and the

Washington Spirit The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and cont ...

of the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

played its regular-season games there between 2013 and 2019 The main stadium was renamed Maureen Hendricks Field in a ceremony before a Spirit game on June 15, 2013. On December 31, 2018, the founding executive director, Trish Heffelfinger, retired from the Maryland Soccer Foundation. Matt Libber, formerly of Elite Tournaments, took over the executive director role in January 2019. The stadium features seating for 4,000, including the general admission lawn, with corresponding restroom facilities, formal press box, and box office. The grass playing field measures 115 x 75 yards. The stadium has previously hosted a US Olympic qualifier, U.S. Open Cup matches, a CONCACAF Champions League match, the ACC Men's Soccer Championships, USL and W League matches, training sessions for Argentina's Boca Juniors and the New Zealand National team. The US Youth Soccer National Championships were also held at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

References

External links

* Washington Freedom Soccer venues in Maryland Women's Professional Soccer stadiums Real Maryland F.C. Sports venues completed in 2000 2000 establishments in Maryland Former National Women's Soccer League stadiums Washington Spirit Defunct National Premier Soccer League stadiums Sports complexes in the United States National Independent Soccer Association stadiums {{Maryland-sports-venue-stub