Berlin Councilmember Shaneka Nichols, right, implores Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan to allow constituents the opportunity to share their opposition to the chosen site for a proposed sports complex. Mayor Zack Tyndall is pictured center.

Officials tell resort leaders community doesn’t want it so thanks but no thanks

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Feb. 12, 2026) Berlin officials have formally asked their counterparts in Ocean City to end their push to build a sports complex on a site near Flower Street and Stephen Decatur High School just east of town.

Citing the strong community opposition expressed during a public meeting last week, the Berlin mayor and council on Monday sent a letter to Ocean City leaders expressing their dissatisfaction with the proposed site for a sports complex.

The correspondence, addressed to Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, reads, “On behalf of the Mayor and Council of the Town of Berlin, we would like to thank you for hosting the recent Sports Complex community meeting on Saturday, February 7, at Stephen Decatur High School.

“We appreciate the opportunity for the Berlin community to share their thoughts pertaining to a potential recreation facility in Briddletown and Flower Street Neighborhood.”

The letter continues, “Following that meeting and after considering resounding feedback expressed by community members in attendance, the Town of Berlin respectfully requests that the property commonly known as ‘Home Farm,’ located directly west of Stephen Decatur High School and Stephen Decatur Middle, be removed from consideration as the potential site for the proposed sports complex.

“The Town of Berlin remains committed to collaborating with the Town of Ocean City to explore alternative locations that balance regional recreational goals with community priorities…”

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall said the message from the public was clear.

“What I heard was the public said this site is a no-go; however, we’re not opposed to a sports complex per se,” he said. “It’s just not a good fit here.”

While some council members noted that Ocean City could proceed with the project without Berlin’s support, Tyndall said he hoped a formal objection could carry weight, especially since state funding is involved.

“The large portion of this funding relies on state funding,” he said. “… The state doesn’t like to fund things when municipalities are at odds with each other.”

Councilmember Shaneka Nichols, a Flower Street resident, said the community’s concerns were centered on quality of life, not hostility toward Ocean City or the project itself.

Some present at Saturday’s meeting argued the complex would increase traffic and place a burden on Berlin’s services, such as fire, police, and EMS. Meanwhile, Ocean City would benefit from increased tourism.

Some council members suggested sending copies of the letter to the Maryland Stadium Authority and the governor’s office. However, Tyndall favored a more measured approach, focusing first on direct communication with Ocean City leadership.

“I was hoping the letter could be congenial,” Tyndall said. “Just to the council and the mayor … the community feedback should be enough…a letter from a neighboring municipality should be enough. If we were advancing a project like that was in someone’s backyard, and they sent us a letter, we would say, ‘okay, let’s alter course.’”

Councilmember Steve Green expressed concern that Ocean City may proceed regardless with purchasing the property from the Harrison family.

“My fear is they’re moving forward anyway,” Green said. “But it’s on Berlin to represent the citizens in that area, and even the county to do so as well. There were people there who weren’t even from municipal Berlin and lived in the county at large.”

Tyndall maintained that if Ocean City chooses to continue planning a sports complex at the Berlin location, community leaders would seek state-level support to halt the project.

“If that’s the route that Ocean City chooses to take after they receive this formal correspondence, then we will go to Annapolis,” he said. “We won’t take that rolling over.”

Furthermore, at mayor and council meeting Monday night, Executive Administrative Assistant to the Mayor Sara Gorfinkel asked town officials if any other municipal locations would be more suitable.

Tyndall maintained that he was not at liberty to share what, or if, any alternative sites had been discussed.