The Sausalito Marin City School District and a youth sports nonprofit have agreed to develop a plan to renovate a long-neglected, district-owned athletic field in Marin City.

District trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to begin discussions with Play Marin founder Paul Austin on potential terms for a long-term lease to rebuild the sports field, which has been mostly unused since 2012.

“This is all to be negotiated,” board president Lauren Walters said after the meeting. “We’ll have more to say once we have an agreed-upon term sheet and the funds have been raised.”

The field is located near the school district’s Marin City campus along Phillips Drive.

Austin said he was “excited” by the possibilities. He envisions a packed schedule of field sports, including lacrosse, field hockey, softball, flag football and possibly track.

“Marin City needs a win — a win that is visible,” he said. “This is the first step in that direction.”

He said he expects the talks with the district could take about a month or more.

Under the still-to-be finalized terms of the plan, Play Marin would hold a lease for perhaps 20 years or more. The lease could encompass about a year or more of fundraising, possibly up to a goal of $10 million, and then cover about two years of renovations.

“We would spearhead the fundraising,” Austin said on Monday. He said he was already in contact with the Marin Community Foundation and the Junior Giants Foundation, both of which have expressed interest in helping with the project.

“Marin City deserves to have a pristine field for our kids and for the greater community,” Austin said.

After construction is finished, Play Marin could potentially operate the field and would oversee team rentals. Austin said the field could fill a huge gap in the county felt by the growing number of youth and adult sports teams.

“This would help make Marin City like a gym for Marin and the Bay Area, because there is such a need for field space right now,” he said.

The field, which has no irrigation system, is mostly only slightly usable in winter months when it is softened and kept green by rain, according to Austin. In dry periods, it is rutted and has potholes, he said.

Justin Derby and Hamed Beytollah, members of the men’s Marin Rugby Club and its associated youth team, Marin Highlanders, said they have been using the field since about 2003. They told trustees they hope to continue to have access to the field, which they said they have helped to seed and keep green.

“We are very invested in seeing the field be improved and hope that we can continue to enjoy it and work with the school into the future,” Derby told trustees on Thursday.

“It’s the closest thing we have had to a consistent home for many years,” Derby said. “We want the community to benefit from an improved facility to be used as both a field and a gathering space.”

The rugby club’s community “is in a position to redevelop the field in partnership with the school district,” Beytollah said after the meeting.

“Although the school has stopped maintenance on the field, we aerate, seed, fertilize and even bring external water for the field,” Beytollah said.

Mike Ghilotti of the Ghilotti Bros. Inc. construction company said he is looking forward to helping with the project.

“Ghilotti Bros. Inc. has supported the original and renovations of the Marin City sports fields over the years through at cost and donated work,” he said.