Stafford County will continue to lease a private space for the Stafford Royals competitive gymnastics program.

The county’s Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities Department has had a gymnastics program in place at this location, at 500 Nelms Circle in the southern portion of the county off Route 17, known as the Stafford Gymnastics and Recreation Center, since the early 1990s.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a new one-year lease of the 25,584 square feet warehouse owned by Stafford County resident Thurman Campbell, who sits on the board of directors for the county’s regional airport.

The new lease is for a one-year time period, with four one-year renewals, at an initial annual rate of $166,800. This amount has remained constant since 2012, according to a county report. If the county extends the lease beyond the new one-year term, Campbell has the option of increasing the rent by 2% annually, according to the terms of the deal.

The county has explored moving its gymnastics program out of the warehouse and into a new field house. Officials considered building on the property at the Aquia Town Center in North Stafford, and on a piece of property next to the Rappahannock Regional Jail just off Route 1 in Stafford County.

However, the county was unable to ink a deal on either location.

“Staff believes sufficient flexibility is built into this lease to allow the County to maximize any opportunities that may present themselves toward a long-term gymnastics space solution,” the county report states.