In the middle of the busy streets, catty-corner northeast of the Reno airport, there’s an oasis with overgrown bushes changing colors for fall, birds and migratory bats, and the river flowing below.
This area is one of the first to flood, said George Robison, executive director of the authority.
“We would be underwater right here during a big flood,” Robison said.
One of the agency’s roles is to prevent damage to infrastructure.
“We're going to do that with levees that can protect the water from going out into the industrial areas,” Robison said. “What we want to do is slow this water down. We can do things that are more natural. We can have side channels that get this more connected to the floodplain.”
The flood management project also comes with a potential redesign of the nearly 170 acres. The land could become a full nature park with platforms for fishing, an outdoor classroom and event space, and wildlife viewing areas. Some environmental organizations have advocated for keeping the land as natural as possible.
The second, more costly concept could incorporate nature park components, along with 11 grass fields with lights that could double as a water retention basin. Ferrari Farms, located on Mill Street, is currently leasing the land from TRFMA. It is not included in the proposed design plans and will need to leave.
Naomi Albertson, a sports medicine physician, is fighting for more fields alongside other parents, coaches, and sports leagues, from soccer and lacrosse to ultimate frisbee. While the city’s population is growing, the number of playing fields is lagging.
“In order to support your athlete who is playing one of these sports, you may end up having to leave your job early to get them from South Reno to Golden Eagle, which is at this point about a 45-minute to an hour drive. There's already so many barriers in place for youth participation,” Albertson said.
According to the City of Reno Parks, Recreation and Open Space Master Plan, 45 flat fields are needed to meet the national average per capita. There were 83 ball fields and flat fields identified that the city or Washoe County School District maintains, as of the plan's approval in November 2023.
However, Albertson and the athletes may have to wait. Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson, a TRFMA board member, told KUNR last week that he’s not ready to vote. He acknowledged that the Golden Eagle Sports Complex attracts more than 1,000 teams, generating revenue for nearby hotels and shopping establishments.
But Lawson wants to get started on flood mitigation right away, even if it means ditching the fields. Many point to the disastrous flood in 1997, which caused two deaths and approximately $700 million in damages.
“We had 25,000 people out of work. I was one of them,” Lawson said.
The timeline isn’t clear. The Army Corps of Engineers must approve the permits, as it’s considered a federal waterway, and it has taken years to greenlight a project downstream.
“How much does it cost? What's the timing of it? What if we do have a flood?” Lawson asked. “I couldn't look people in Sparks, in the industrial area, I couldn’t look them in the eye and say, ‘We decided to postpone because we decided it was more important to have recreation.’”
Robison said the authority has roughly $70 million needed on hand. The funding is from a small increment in Washoe County’s sales tax, instituted after the 1997 flood.
TRFMA’s board of directors meeting is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 10, at the City of Sparks Legislative Building or online. The board is made up of elected officials from the Washoe County Commission, and Reno and Sparks city councils.
