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A multimillion-dollar soccer field project and a Frisbee golf course are two options being considered for Sligo Creek Golf Course in Silver Spring if the unlikely option of keeping golf at the course cannot be achieved.

Montgomery Soccer Inc. is proposing two grass and four synthetic fields covering a third of the 65-acre plot at 9701 Sligo Creek Parkway. The synthetic fields would include light fixtures up to 60 feet tall, said Doug Schuessler, executive director of MSI, which serves about 14,000 youth players.

It would be a multimillion dollar project, Schuessler said, with MSI willing to "participate significantly in the cost of construction and maintenance of the fields." Through use from MSI players and possibly schools and the county's rec department, the fields would add much-needed soccer fields to the downcounty area.

It would cost roughly $250,000 to install a grass field and between $600,000 and $1.2 million for each synthetic field, he said.

Schuessler made the announcement at a June 23 meeting hosted by the North Hills of Sligo Creek Civic Association. Residents were concerned about the cost of such a project and the environmental impact. The community has previously rejected a lighted driving range.

The County Council ruled in April that the county Revenue Authority would return operations of the course to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission on Oct. 1. Park and Planning leased operation of four courses, including Sligo Creek, to the Revenue Authority in 2006. The Revenue Authority owns five courses.

Schuessler said the fields would be placed close to the Beltway, away from the residential area near the course. That area is the flattest portion of the course and would have the least negative impact during construction, which would take a full season, Schuessler said.

An 18- or 27-hole Frisbee golf course could be installed within a week and cost $1,000 per hole, said Brad Beeson, vice president of Bethesda Bungalows, a custom home builder that would help install the course. In Frisbee golf, players complete holes by throwing a Frisbee toward a basket that serves as the "hole."

The course would use the existing land unaltered and would be accompanied by an arboretum with roughly 400 new trees and a sculpture garden.

Because it would likely be free to play, Beeson said, revenue opportunities would come from merchandise sales and concessions. Beeson also said the county would likely be charged with maintening the property.

Some residents supported the idea because of Frisbee golf's inclusive, inexpensive nature and the limited impact on the environment. But others worried that Frisbee golf is too much of a niche sport. Others suggested that a third of the land be used for soccer and two-thirds for an 18-hole Frisbee golf course.

Residents have suggested a community garden, but that idea was not discussed June 23.

Most residents at a May meeting about the future of the course said they want golf to remain at Sligo Creek. A Web site — www.savesligogolf.com — was launched, as were two Facebook groups.

To keep golf at Sligo Creek, the Revenue Authority would have to agree to an amendment of its lease and M-NCPPC would have to determine a golf course wouldn't have the same drain on taxpayers as it did on the Revenue Authority, said Rachel Newhouse, the project coordinator with the county Department of Parks.

Sligo Creek will still operate as a golf course this summer.

A public hearing before the county Planning Board is scheduled for July 16 to review the schedule for the reuse plan but not actual alternatives. After that, the county Parks Department will determine which proposals it would like to see in greater detail and if a golf option is possible, Newhouse said.

The County Council has final say on how the course will be used.