FREDERICA — Since opening in 2017, the DE Turf Sports Complex has brought a buzz of economic activity to southern Delaware.

The ground has already been broken for a new hotel, a SpringHill Suites by Marriott, which is forecast to be opened in the spring of 2023. It is on Asbury Square across from DE Turf on Del. 1, an area which is expected to be a hotspot for new businesses.

The hotel alone is expected to push economic growth in a higher gear than previously seen in the small town. Frederica Mayor William “Chick” Glanden expects to see up to six different businesses pop up next to the Marriott, at a minimum, from drug stores to coffee shops, fast food and possibly a gas station.

“Right now, I think a lot of these businesses are waiting to see this hotel. By the end of this year, they’re going to start putting applications in here,” said Mayor Glanden, who sees the business growth as essential. “You can’t say no. As long as it’s legal, you got to go with it.”

Frederica Pizza and Pasta House, one of the few restaurants currently in town, has been bursting with customers ever since DE Turf opened half a decade ago.

“The pizza parlor is packed. They’ve probably picked up a few more [customers],” said Mayor Glanden on the impact on DE Turf. “It’d be nice to have competition. Right now, there’s not a whole lot of competition. We do need places with fast food.”

Owned by Pietro Randazzo, the pizza business is one of the most frequented establishments in the small town. Since DE Turf opened, the restaurant has seen a steep increase in the number of customers coming in, leading to a 30-40% increase in sales, said Mr. Randazzo.

“[DE Turf]’s impacted our business. It’s created a lot more demand for our services, and it also has put us in a position where we’re coordinating with the tournament events, catering to our loyal customers that have come to us,” Mr. Randazzo said.

“It creates a different challenge in trying to provide service for our normal business plus the additional volume that the tournaments bring.”

Meding’s Seafood, just south of DE Turf on Del. 1, provides some of the only competition in the area. But that will soon change in the eyes of Mayor Glanden.

The fact that Meoli Companies, which is leading the construction of the new Marriott in Frederica, owns over two dozen McDonald’s franchises, including one in Camden, could point to the distinct possibility of a future McDonald’s opening in Frederica.

The process will take some time, however, because every business that applies to open its doors in Frederica must pass several regulatory hurdles in order to become a brick and mortar. Planning, zoning, engineer review and council approval are all a part of the process.

However, the energy surrounding the bustling growth brought about by DE Turf is positive.

“Everybody’s kind of looking forward to this. Everybody would kill for a gas station, because we don’t have one here anymore,” said Mayor Glanden, who has served for almost 20 years.

According to Mayor Glanden, 284 houses are expected to be built on South Market Street, at a rate of 10 to 12 houses a year over two decades. This is expected to help with a population rise in the town.

However, he emphasized that they do not want to expand too quickly, noting that “sustainable growth” is a necessity.

“The thing that we really don’t want is to grow so fast that we outgrow ourselves. We want to be able to sustain what we have. We want to keep everything growing and moving forward. We don’t want to open up a place and two months later and shut the doors,” Mayor Glanden said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Randazzo noted that DE Turf is not the only driving force for this local economic boom, giving credit to infrastructure improvements that have “created a lot more access to our restaurants.”

In terms of future plans for his business growing alongside DE Turf, Mr. Randazzo said he is “constantly hiring.”

“You walk through that door and you say you’re looking for a job – I’ll sit with you and see if you’re someone we can put on our staff. So that’s on a kind of consistent basis. We’re constantly hiring people because of the overwhelming opportunity to keep people employed,” he said.

With new businesses soon to join just a few minutes away, Mr. Randazzo echoed some of the same sentiments about competition as the town’s mayor.

“That’d be a great thing for the area to have a lot more services for the amount of people that are coming to this area,” Mr. Randazzo said. “We’re excited about having a hotel down the road from us.”

“We are looking forward to the growth – that it’s thought of, proposed and that it’s actually being enacted. This facility plus the infrastructure improvements has provided an environment of growth, which is a great thing for opportunity to have careers for a lot of different sectors of our economy.”