34-Acre Soccer Field Project Takes Off
culture, elizabeth city, jeff simpson, jim overman, pasquotank county, recreation, soccer, sports-park complex,
Heads up: A new soccer complex is being constructed in Elizabeth City.
Both the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County parks and recreation departments have been working together for more than a year to make two sports projects become a reality in this community. They are the River Road Soccer Complex and the South Park Athletic Complex.
The soccer facility is being built adjacent to River Road Middle School on county property that is not part of the school system. A total of five soccer fields will be constructed along with a walking trail, playground and parking lot, and soccer is tentatively scheduled to begin at River Road by the fall of 2008.
“These days, all the organized soccer in this community is played on school fields, so this complex will have more of a positive influence on the youth in our area than anything we’ve done in Elizabeth City over the past 20 years,” says Jim Overman, director of the Elizabeth City Parks & Recreation Department.
Jeff Simpson agrees. The director of the Pasquotank County Parks and Recreation Department says that youth sports facilities have been a top priority in the community for several years.
“We originally wanted one piece of property to have everything at one site, but that didn’t work out,” Simpson says. “So we broke ground on the soccer facility in September 2007 and will eventually add the baseball complex to the mix.”
The South Park Athletic Complex for baseball will be on 34 acres in the old industrial park south of town, just off Weeksville Road where the Food Bank of the Albemarle is situated.
Plans for the complex include five youth baseball diamonds with 200-foot fences. The fields will be configured in a wagon-wheel design, and there will also be one adjacent larger diamond with 350-foot fences for kids ages 13-18.
Overman says the city and county will apply for a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant in January 2008 to begin work on the 34 acres.
“If we get the grant money as anticipated in June 2008, then in July we will start construction of the baseball complex,” he says. “This has been a long time coming. Right now, many of our youngsters must travel to Camden County in order to play in baseball leagues.”
Simpson says once the complexes are in operation, the city and county will work together to maintain both sites.
“This is an exciting time,” he says. “Everyone is a winner in this endeavor, especially the kids who play sports in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County.”
Story by Kevin Litwin
Photo by Wes Aldridge
