Supporters of a plan to build a new multipurpose sports complex in Lawrence are still in the ballgame.

City and county commissioners inched closer Wednesday to approving a feasibility study for a complex that could provide additional fields and gym space for Lawrence schools and city Parks and Recreation programs.

“If as a city we just focus on building roads and picking up the trash, I don’t think we’re the community that we say we are,” City Commissioner Sue Hack said at a joint meeting of city, county and school district officials. “It seems like we have a responsibility to look at these needs.”

A majority of city commissioners agreed to formally consider a request to pay 40 percent of the study, which would examine the needs and options for a multi-use sports complex. The school district already had agreed to pay another 40 percent of the tab, which could reach $70,000. At Wednesday’s meeting, two of the three county commissioners indicated they would be willing to pay 10 percent of the costs.

Bonnie Lowe, an organizer of Partners for Lawrence Athletics and Youth, said she was encouraged by the commissioners’ comments.

“I think they’re going to support it because it is the right thing to do,” said Lowe, a former Lawrence mayor. “It would improve the livability of the community.”

Lowe said her group would find a way to pay for the remaining 10 percent of the study. She said the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and Lawrence Sports Corp. had expressed interest in backing the study. She said private funding also was likely.

Supporters have argued a new complex would allow Lawrence students to compete on fields and facilities equal to Topeka and Kansas City area schools. They’ve also said a new complex could attract tournaments and other sporting events to the city.

Some commissioners, though, did express concerns. City Commissioner Mike Amyx said that he didn’t want people to think that funding the study meant that the city was committed to funding construction of a complex.

“We would have to have a serious discussion about where this would rank on the list of projects we already have,” Amyx said. “We have a lot of projects to consider already.”