Douglas County commissioners are willing to put up some money to help pay for a study to determine the need for a youth multisport complex; they just aren’t sure how much.

“I think we should be in for something,” Jones said.

Jones and Commissioner Bob Johnson said the idea of a sports complex was worth pursuing but that the lead role should be taken by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department or by the Lawrence school district.

Commissioners responded after hearing a proposal from Bonnie Lowe for a feasibility and needs assessment study to be funded by the county, city, school district and possibly the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

She will meet with the City Commission on Tuesday and the school board on Jan. 9.

Lowe said she had talked to three companies that could conduct the study and estimated that the cost could be from $50,000 to $75,000.

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Lowe said she was representing a group called Partners for Lawrence Athletics & Youth, or PLAY, a group of local residents “promoting the future athletic needs of the community.”

Jones and Johnson said they thought the county’s role in funding the study should be minimal. Putting up a third of the money could open the door to similar requests from Baldwin and Eudora, they said.

“I think the lead pony should be somebody other than the Douglas County Commission,” Johnson said.

Lowe said she would meet with commissioners again after she obtains more specific cost estimates for the study and hears what the city and school board have to say.

Lowe also said she thought private corporations might be willing to help pay for a sports complex. The study would determine the need and scope of a complex.

Such a sports center, Lowe has said, might be similar to Hummer Sports Park in Topeka. That park, built for $17.5 million after Topeka voters in 2001 approved a bond issue to finance it, is located on the grounds of the former Topeka State Hospital. It has a stadium and other facilities for six sports: football, track, baseball, softball, soccer and swimming.