The future of Vicksburg’s proposed sports complex is now in the hands of a committee that will deliberate whether the lone proposal received Monday from The Sports Force of Canton, Ga., is the right move for the city.

While we have supported the sports complex and are glad to see the project beginning to get traction, we want to urge our city officials to exercise care and take their time when it comes to hiring a company to build and manage the sports complex.

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. wants to move the project along as fast as possible, telling Aldermen Michael Mayfield and Alex Monsour, “I hope we try and get it on the fast track if we can. There’s a lot of children out there waiting on the sports complex.” Monsour has also indicated he wants to get the project moving as soon as possible.

That may be a mistake.

City officials and members of the committee that will make the recommendation whether to hire the company to build the complex are familiar with The Sports Force.

The city hired the company to perform a feasibility study on the city’s Fisher Ferry property as a site for the complex. Sports Force later gave a presentation with an artist’s rendering of how the proposed park will look.

But the officials’ familiarity with the company should not be a reason to move quickly and begin negotiations on a contract for the sports complex. The committee reviewing the proposal needs to take its time, and take all the time it needs to make sure The Sports Force proposal is a sound, reasonable one that will reap the city benefits in the future.

To do that, they need to take the proverbial “fine tooth comb” and go over every bit of the proposal to make sure the city gets a good deal. This project has come along way, and now it the time when our city officials need to exercise care and due diligence.

Yes, the sports complex is a needed facility. Yes, it has taken a long time to reach this point. And taking a few more days or weeks to perform a proper review of a proposal on a project that means so much for the city will ensure we are getting the best possible facility for our money.