Herriman discusses 60‑acre Southwest Athletic Complex; council OKs memorandum of understanding to explore land swaps

Council member Teddy Hodges said Herriman is exploring a proposed 60‑acre Southwest Athletic Complex intended to host more than 16 programmable turf fields and to leverage outside funding, not rely solely on city taxpayers. "It's a moving jigsaw puzzle," Hodges said, summarizing the project’s complexity.

Hodges told listeners the city does not yet own all the land and does not have full budget authority to build the complex. To advance the concept, the council took a step at its Wednesday meeting to adopt a memorandum of understanding to work with landowners, developers and other partners and to explore equitable land‑swap arrangements. "We made a step, a memorandum of understanding that we're gonna all work, to the best interest of this," Hodges said. He emphasized the agreement is exploratory and that partners can stop the effort if it proves unworkable.

City staff described the proposed site as in the Teton Ranch area (roughly 6000 West to 64100 West, between 118 South and 126 South, just west of the high school). Officials said the concept includes full‑turf, lower‑maintenance fields usable for soccer, rugby, football and similar rectangle‑field sports.

Officials also said community engagement is underway: the first of three public meetings had about 45–50 attendees, with postcards sent to adjacent property owners. Hodges warned that misinformation about the project was circulating online and directed residents to the city’s official channels for accurate details. He offered a soft timeline that the city hopes to narrow options by late February or early March, but stressed many elements remain conceptual and no land has been sold or exchanged.

The council and staff framed the project as contingent on successful agreements with landowners and on securing non‑city funding. Next steps include two more community meetings and further analysis of land‑swap proposals and funding options.