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A Mt. Lebanon commissioner wants users to pay a share of the $2.5 million cost to build new athletic fields on 23.5 acres the municipality purchased last year on Devonshire Road.

"This is a substantial amount of money," Commissioner David Humphreys said. "My theory is that the people who will be using these fields should pay for it more than the average taxpayer."

Humphreys earlier this month said he wants athletic associations to contribute $850,000 toward the fields.

"Our members are involved in a process to evaluate this request," said Bruce Fisher, president of the Mt. Lebanon Youth Sports Alliance, which represents 8 of 13 youth sports associations in the municipality. "One of the concerns we have is that this request for private contributions is much higher than was requested for other public projects in the municipality."

He said only about 5.5 percent of the $7.1 million public safety building came from private contributions.

The municipality paid $1.8 million for the property on Devonshire Road, off McNeilly Road. Plans call for two rectangle fields and a softball/baseball field. A walking/running trail along the perimeter is also a possibility.

Commissioners will vote in May to float a $2.9 million bond to cover the cost of this project and other municipal projects, Although the original cost estimate for the athletic fields project was $1.7 million, Humphries is keeping his request at $850,000.

"We are not asking them for cash in hand immediately," Humphreys said. "We just want a pledge by all of the associations that they will raise the funds over a three-to-five year period."

The Mt. Lebanon Indoor Tennis Association had a similar request a couple years ago because they wanted new bubbles for the courts, Humphreys said.

"We fronted the money for them and they're now paying us back over several years," Humphreys said. " We have no reason to believe that the associations can't do the same."

Fisher said that there are about 4,000 participants who use fields in Mt. Lebanon, but he feels they are being overused. These fields include Horsman Field, Jefferson Field, Bird Park and Wildcats Field on Cedar Boulevard.

The fields are shared between the school district and youth community sports leagues. Mt. Lebanon will lose Horsman Field when construction begins on an indoor pool for the high school

No new fields have been added to the municipality since Bird Park athletic field in the 1970s, said commission President Ty Ely. Since the 1970's youth sports have doubled in participation with the addition of boys lacrosse, girls soccer, girls lacrosse, field hockey, girls softball, along with more young children playing micro-soccer and other outdoor activities, he said.

There are currently two buildings on the property that must be razed, the land leveled and a stream piped underground before the fields can be constructed.

In addition to the fields, the new park would include restrooms, pavilions, a concession stand, paved parking, walking trails, dog park and other amenities.

"The property will alleviate the overuse and abuse of existing fields and allow teams to practice without having five or six teams on one field simultaneously," Ely said.

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