Development of Cricket Ground at Mills Park Request for Qualifications

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
RFQ #354-PR26-14
Project Title: Development of Cricket Ground at Mills Park
Issue Date: March 25, 2026
Due Date: July 2, 2026 at 1:00 pm ET
Issuing Department: PRCR
Direct all inquiries concerning this RFQ to:
William Davis
PRCR Division Manager
Email: CricketGround@carync.gov
v.04.15.24

1 REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
1.1 Introduction
The Town of Cary is interested in exploring the possibility/potential of partnering with a local
cricket organization (Respondents) to build a cricket ground at Mills Park (425 Mills Park Drive)
in order to provide residents an opportunity to learn and play the sport of cricket. Cricket is a
growing sport in the Triangle area and there has been expressed some interest in developing
cricket grounds/fields to assist in expanding the sport.
Cary has a history of partnering with sports organizations in order to provide recreational
benefits to the community. This RFQ provides another potential opportunity to work with a viable
organization for a sport that is requesting more presence in Cary. This response should include
background on the organization, concept design ideas, funding sources, and operations
programming priorities. Cary is expecting a substantial monetary commitment from the
Respondents. More details are in Section 2.
1.2 Purpose and Background
Mills Park is adjacent to Mills Park Middle and Elementary schools in western Cary. This land
was purchased in 2001 with the purpose of future parks, recreation and cultural arts facilities.
Since the park's opening in 2010, Mills Park represents a collaborative effort between the Wake
County School System and the Town of Cary. The park features two multi-purpose athletic
fields (one is lighted), a lighted softball field, lighted football and track stadium field, a lighted
basketball slab. The area close to the site of the possible Cricket Ground currently consists of
limited asphalt parking (40 spaces), a food waste drop off site, playground equipment, restroom
facilities, greenway trail connection and a rough graded open space field area. The available
space is approximately 6.4 Acres (289,000 square feet) as shown in image below:

1.3 Notice to Respondents Regarding RFQ Terms and Conditions
It shall be the Respondents' responsibility to read the Instructions, all relevant exhibits and
attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFQ and comply with all requirements
and specifications herein. Respondents also are responsible for obtaining and complying with all
Addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFQ.
If Respondents have questions, issues, or exceptions regarding any term, condition, or other
component within this RFQ, those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the
instructions in Section 1.6 Proposal Questions. If the Town determines that any changes will be
made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be communicated in the form
of an RFQ addendum. The Town may also elect to leave open the possibility for later negotiation
and amendment of specific provisions of the contract that have been addressed during the
question submission period. Other than through this process, the Town rejects and will not be
required to evaluate or consider any additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with
Respondents' proposal. This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document
as part of the Respondents' proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or
Respondents' instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further
negotiation. Respondents' proposal shall constitute a firm offer. By execution and delivery of
this RFQ Response, the Respondents agree that Respondents are prepared to enter into a
contract should Town select Respondents' proposal and that any additional or modified
terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force
or effect, and will be disregarded. Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete,
this paragraph shall constitute sufficient grounds to reject Respondents' proposal as
nonresponsive.
1.4 RFQ Response Timeline
The RFQ process shall adhere to the following schedule:
RFQ Process Date and time
RFQ posted/issued 3/25/2026
Pre-Proposal Meeting/ Site Visit 4/15/2026 1:00 PM
Respondents Written Questions Due 5/6/2026 1:00 PM
Town Responses to Respondents questions 5/13/2026
Proposal Submission Deadline 7/2/2026 1:00 PM
Proposals reviewed/Reference Checks 7/29/2026
Interviews if needed Late Summer 2026
Town Manager/Town Council Approval Fall 2026
Note: All times shown as Eastern Time (ET).
1.5 Pre-Proposal Meeting/Site Visit
All Respondents are encouraged to attend a PREPROPOSAL MEETING/SITE VISIT
on 4/15/2026 at 1:00 PM at Mills Park near the restroom building by the playground noted
above. This meeting will help Respondents understand the project in order to submit a thorough
proposal. A summary of all questions and answers will be provided as an addendum to RFQ
#354-PR26-14.
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1.6 You may have Questions...
Upon review of the RFQ documents, Respondents may have questions to clarify or interpret the
RFQ in order to submit the best proposal possible. To accommodate the Questions process,
Respondents shall submit any such questions by the above due date. The Town will not entertain
any further questions after the due date. Written questions shall be emailed to
CricketGround@carync.gov by the date and time specified above. Respondents should enter
"RFQ #354-PR26-14: Questions" as the subject for the email.
Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the Town's response, and any
additional terms deemed necessary by the Town will be posted in the form of an addendum., and
shall become an Addendum to this RFQ. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or
informally by any Town personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in
connection with this RFQ, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Respondents shall rely
only on written material contained in an Addendum to this RFQ.
1.7 Proposal Submission Requirements and Contact Information
Proposals must follow the format as defined in Section 2 FORMAT / SCOPE OF SERVICES.
Electronic responses ONLY will be accepted by sending via EMAIL to contact on the Cover Sheet
of this document with a subject line of RFQ# and Organization Name. Attempts to submit a
proposal via another method (by mail, hand delivery, fax, etc.), in response to this RFQ
shall NOT be accepted. Respondents must respond to the entire Request for Proposals (RFQ).
The Town reserves the right to reject any or all proposals for any reason and to waive any
informality it deems in its best interest. Any requirements in the RFQ that cannot be met must be
indicated in the proposal. Proposals received after the "RFQ Due" deadline above will not be
considered.
Respondents are cautioned not to make changes to any of the terms and conditions in this
solicitation. Doing so may render a Respondent's proposal unacceptable and unresponsive for
award. Question and inquiries must be made in writing as outlined in Section 1.
1.8 Rights to Submitted Material
All proposals, responses, inquiries, or correspondence relating to or in reference to this RFQ, and
all reports, charts, and other documentation submitted by Respondents (other than materials
submitted as and qualifying as trade secrets under North Carolina law) shall become the property
of the Town when received and the entire proposal shall be subject to the public records laws of
the State of North Carolina except where a proper trade secrets exception has been made by the
Respondent in accordance with the procedures allowed by North Carolina law.
The Town reserves the right to retain all proposals submitted and to use any ideas in a proposal
regardless of whether that proposal is selected. Submission of a proposal indicates acceptance
by the Respondent of the conditions contained in this Request for Proposal.
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2 FORMAT / SCOPE OF SERVICES
Responses must follow the format outlined herein. The Town may reject as non-responsive at its
sole discretion any proposal or any part thereof that is incomplete, inadequate in its response, or
departs in any substantive way from the required format. Proposal responses shall be organized
in the following manner and more details are included in Section 3 of what to include:
1. Cover Letter/Letter of Intent
a. Introduction letter with intent as it may pertain to the Request for Proposal.
b. Point of contact with email and phone number
c. Provide a three (3) bullet summary of why Cary should select your proposal
2. Organization Background and Experience
This section shall include background information on the organization and should give details
of experience with similar projects. The evaluators may check all public sources to determine
whether Respondent has listed accurate information.
a. Name of organization, tax ID number, filing status
b. Mission of the organization
c. Date established
d. Affiliation/past collaborations with Cary
e. Current service details (like the current number of children and adults currently serviced
by your cricket offerings, which facilities you currently use, and how long you have used
those facilities. The more details you can provide in response to this section, the better)
f. Track record on providing cricket services (provide history of your provision of cricket
offerings and the challenges you have had providing these services)
g. List at least two references (form in Section 3) that can speak on your organization's
reputation and business operations. Respondents should have two (2) different types of
references (for example, municipality/organization you rent fields from, a parent in your
organization, a sponsor, a league staff member for your affiliated league). The
evaluators reserve the right to request additional references, if information from the
references contacted warrant further inquiry.
3. Financial Statement
The Respondent shall provide the following financial information:
a. Recently (within the past 12 months) compiled financial statements (prepared by an
independent CPA) that shall include, at a minimum, a balance sheet, income statement
(i.e., profit/loss statement) and cash flow statement.
b. Provide any details on investors and your approach to funding this project. Specifically
identify the funding you have in place for this project or note how you are specifically
looking to fund this project and the improvements needed to build and operate the
Cricket Grounds at Mills Park.
The Respondent's failure to provide any of the above-referenced financial statements or
failure to submit all the requested financial statements may result in the rejection of the
Respondent's proposal and rejection is more likely to occur if other Respondents provide
financial documentation in compliance with the foregoing provisions. Respondents are also
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encouraged to explain any negative financial information in its financial statements and are
encouraged to provide documentation supporting those explanations.
All financial information, statements and/or documents provided in response to this proposal
requirement shall be kept confidential, IF THE RESPONDENT COMPLIES WITH
PARAGRAPH 13 OF THE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING PROPOSALS BY
MARKING THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION, STATEMENTS AND/OR DOCUMENTS
CONFIDENTIAL.
4. Project Understanding, Approach and Schedule
This section shall include, in narrative, outline, and/or graph showing the Respondent's
approach to accomplishing the tasks outlined below. A description of each task and
deliverable and a draft schedule for accomplishing each shall be included.
a. List any volunteer or paid consultants (design, and/or construction affiliated businesses)
connected with this response.
b. Service numbers and analytics that will be a result of this project. Please provide details
on:
i. Proposed use of the ground/field once completed including:
1. schedule of use / operational hours
2. number of youth served and number of adults served (on a weekly basis) or your
philosophy of youth vs adult percentages
3. benefits provided to the Cary community
c. How will it be used? Items such as:
i. Public / Private use: With it being in a Cary park, the expectation is that there will be
a significant public use aspect associated with the facility. Does your proposal
include aspects of public useand if so, what does that look like?
ii. Who/how many other cricket groups will be permitted to use the facility?
iii. Multiuse or single sport?
iv. Philosophy on priority of tournaments vs daily use?
d. Describe and/or visually provide design approach ideas:
i. All proposed concepts will need to meet Cary Development Regulations and meet
the Land Development Ordinance. Your team should have familiarity with these
regulations and, if there are any known deviations, highlight that in your proposal.
ii. Develop a design concept that aligns with the current Cary parks aesthetics, quality,
and functional characteristics so it looks, feels, and acts like a Cary facility.
iii. Please consider any upgrades needed to support facilities, such as restrooms,
parking, landscaping and other site amenities, as it relates to the daily and event-
driven capacities of the proposed use.
e. Describe how you would see the design and construction structure between your
organization and the Town. For instance, is it to be conducted by organization or
conducted by Town or some creative hybrid system. And your desired schedule.
5. Preliminary Cost Proposal
a) Provide your projected/estimated cost for design and construction of the ground/field and
any cages included in your project. This should include any additional parking needed,
restrooms, storage building, and other support facilities. Cary Parks, Recreation and
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Cultural Resources department are pleased to assist in design and construction
standards.
b) Also provide estimated annual Maintenance and Operating costs to manage and
maintain the area of the park.
c) Then provide the cost sharing model that you would like to see between your
organization and Town. Most similar projects to these have the organization committed
to over 50% of the design and construction costs.
d) Once operating, will there be a revenue sharing component with Town?
2.1 Evaluation Criteria
This is not a bid. There will not be a public bid opening. Proposals will be evaluated based on the
following criteria:
(a) x (b)
(a) (b)
Criteria Weighted
Weight Score (0-3)
Score
Corporate Background and Standing 30
Financial Statement 20
Project understanding and approach 30
Cost Proposal 20
Final Score
Score Points
0- Missing or Does Not Meet Expectation 2- Meets Expectation
1- Partially Meets Expectation 3- Exceeds Expectation
2.2 Proposal Evaluation Process
The Town shall review all Respondents responses to this RFQ to confirm that they meet the
specifications and requirements of the RFQ.
The Town will conduct a One-Step evaluation of Proposals:
All proposals must be received by the issuing agency not later than the date and time specified
on the cover sheet of this RFQ.
Interested parties are cautioned that these costs and their components are subject to further
evaluation for completeness and correctness and therefore may not be an exact indicator of a
Respondents' pricing position.
At their option, the evaluators may request oral presentations or discussion with any or all
Respondents for the purpose of clarification or to amplify the materials presented in any part of
the proposal. Respondents are cautioned, however, that the evaluators are not required to
request presentations or other clarification-and often do not. Therefore, all proposals should be
complete and reflect the most favorable terms available from the Respondents.
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Proposals will generally be evaluated according to completeness, content, and experience with
specific evaluation criteria are listed in 2.2 EVALUATION CRITERIA, above.
Respondents are cautioned that this is a request for offers, not an offer or request to contract,
and the Town reserves the unqualified right to reject any and all offers at any time if such rejection
is deemed to be in the best interest of the Town.
It is anticipated that the Cary Town Manager and/or the Cary Town Council will review and make
final approval of this project. This can take a significant amount of time (months to years) and that
should be accounted for in all proposals.
2.3 Final Selection
Proposals will be reviewed after opening and will be ranked in order of choice. A recommendation
will then be presented to the Town Manager and/or Town Council for approval to negotiate a
contract with the #1 choice and, if unsuccessful, to then pursue negotiations with the #2 choice.
All Respondents will be notified of their standing immediately following Town's decision. The Town
reserves the right to make an award without further discussion of the proposal submitted. The
Town shall not be bound or in any way obligated until both parties have executed a contract. The
Town also reserves the right to delay the award of a contract or to not award a contract. The RFQ
may be awarded by individual task or total proposal, whichever is most advantageous to the Town
of Cary.
The general conditions and specifications of the RFQ and the selected proposal, as amended by
agreement between the Town and the selected Respondent including e-mail or written
correspondence relative to the RFQ, may become part of the contract documents. Failure of the
awarded Respondents to perform as represented may result in elimination of the Respondents
from competition or in contract cancellation or termination.
2.4 Contract Term
The Contract may have an initial term of eight (8) years, beginning on the date of contract award
(the "Effective Date").
The Town shall have the option, in its sole discretion, to renew the Contract on the same terms
and conditions for up to a total of two additional eight-year terms. The Town will give the
Respondents written notice of its intent whether to exercise each option by a duly authorized
amendment.
2.5 Notice to Respondents Regarding RFQ Terms and Conditions
It shall be the Respondent's responsibility to read the Instructions, and all relevant exhibits and
attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFQ and comply with all
requirements and specifications herein. Respondents also are responsible for obtaining and
complying with all addenda and other changes that may be issued in connection with this RFQ.
By: Title:
(Signature)
Name: Date
(Printed)
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3 REFERENCES
Respondent must supply (2) two references for which services have been performed/delivered
within the past (2) two years. Respondents should have two (2) different types of references
(for example, municipality/organization you rent fields from, a parent in your organization, a
sponsor, a league staff member for your affiliated league). Respondents are cautioned to
provide accurate reference information. References will be checked during evaluation period.
RESPONDENT:
_________________________________________________________________
Reference # 1
Full Name: ________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________ State: ________ Zip Code: _____________
Phone Number: (____) ______________________
Email Address: ______________________________________________________________
Reference # 2
Full Name: ________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________ State: ________ Zip Code: _____________
Phone Number: (____) ______________________
Email Address: ______________________________________________________________
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INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS
1. READ, REVIEW AND COMPLY: It shall be the Respondent's responsibility to read this entire
document, review all enclosures and attachments, and any addenda thereto, and comply with
all requirements specified herein, regardless of whether appearing in these Instructions to
Respondents or elsewhere in this RFQ document.
2. ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION: The Town reserves the right to reject any and all
proposals, to waive any informality in proposals and, unless otherwise specified by the
Respondent, to accept any item in the proposal. If either a unit price or an extended price is
obviously in error and the other is obviously correct, the incorrect price will be disregarded.
3. BASIS FOR REJECTION: The Town reserves the right to reject any and all offers, in whole
or in part, by deeming the offer unsatisfactory as to quality or quantity, delivery, price or service
offered, non-compliance with the requirements or intent of this solicitation, lack of
competitiveness, error(s) in specifications or indications that revision would be advantageous
to the Town, cancellation or other changes in the intended project or any other determination
that the proposed requirement is no longer needed, limitation or lack of available funds,
circumstances that prevent determination of the best offer, or any other determination that
rejection would be in the best interest of the Town.
4. EXECUTION: Failure to sign EXECUTION PAGE in the indicated space will render proposal
non-responsive, and it shall be rejected.
5. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE: In cases of conflict between specific provisions in this solicitation
or those in any resulting contract, the order of precedence shall be (high to low): (1) The
Principal Contract Terms, (2) RFQ Terms, (3) Instructions in INSTRUCTIONS TO
RESPONDENTS, and (4) Respondent's Proposal.
6. INFORMATION AND DESCRIPTIVE LITERATURE: Respondent shall furnish all information
requested and, in the spaces, provided in this document. Further, if required elsewhere in this
proposal, each Respondent must submit with their proposal sketches, descriptive literature
and/or complete specifications covering the products offered. Reference to literature
submitted with a previous proposal or available elsewhere will not satisfy this provision.
Proposals that do not comply with these requirements shall be subject to rejection without
further consideration.
7. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: To the extent permitted by applicable statutes and rules,
the Town will maintain confidential trade secrets that the Respondent does not wish disclosed.
As a condition to confidential treatment, each page containing trade secret information shall
be identified in boldface at the top and bottom as "CONFIDENTIAL" by the Respondent, with
specific trade secret information enclosed in boxes or similar indication. Cost information shall
not be deemed confidential under any circumstances. Regardless of what a Respondent may
label as a trade secret, the determination whether it is or is not entitled to protection will be
determined in accordance with G.S. 132-1.2. Any material labeled as confidential constitutes
a representation by the Respondent that it has made a reasonable effort in good faith to
determine that such material is, in fact, a trade secret under G.S. 132-1.2. Respondents are
urged and cautioned to limit the marking of information as a trade secret or as confidential so
far as is possible.
8. COMMUNICATIONS BY RESPONDENTS: In submitting its proposal, the Respondent agrees
not to discuss or otherwise reveal the contents of its proposal to any source, government or
private, outside of the using or issuing agency until after the award of the Contract or
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