THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505020106
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
THE HAMPTON ROADS Soccer Council recently struck up a relationship with Sheriff Frank Drew's work crews and have finally broken ground on the regional soccer complex near Princess Anne Park.
The first stages - clearing of enough land to build eight playing fields - is now complete.
The work crews worked with teams from the city's landscaping division and saved the council thousands of dollars on the initial clearing costs.
``We swapped off some labor trades with the landscaping folks and got the job done a lot faster,'' said Sheriff's Capt. Jack Pallett. ``We would have been out here forever the way some of it had grown up.
``We're clearing about 75 acres of the property and that's a lot of work.''
Drew was approached by Mike Barrett of the soccer council about helping with the project.
``This is a great opportunity for the Sheriff's Department to contribute to the youth of our community,'' Drew said.
The hardest of the clearing work was cutting down growth in drainage ditches that ran through the former farm fields.
``The work the sheriff's department did was worth about $30,000 to us,'' Barrett said. ``That's what it would have cost to hire a contractor to come out there and do all that.
``The sheriff is very supportive. He sees it as crime prevention, keeping kids off the street.''
Now the work will begin on finding contractors to level out the land and raise it about a foot to meet city codes. A road has to be built from the existing Recreation Drive road that winds through Princess Anne Park to the complex's fields. From there, planting and lawn care will take about a year to make the fields usable.
``We have to break ground and bring three major drainage ditches to code,'' said Karen Knott, administrator for the council. ``The Bermuda grass needs to grow for about a year to take hold real well.
``I'd like to say that we'll open the first eight fields by the fall of 1996, but we'd really love to get it open in time for the Columbus Day or Labor Day tournaments.''
The council's biggest setback has come in fund-raising. The cash goal is $1.5 million, and another million dollars worth of volunteer labor is needed. Although more than $600,000 has been pledged through the next five years, the organization has had trouble getting the backing it hoped it would get from major corporations.
``We've had to work largely with smaller companies, and raising large sums of money that way takes a lot longer,'' Knott said. ``We've eliminated some bigger things on the first site plan (like the main stadium) so that we can at least get things started. We still want the stadium, but it will have to be set back in order to get the ball rolling.''
When finally completed, the facility will be the home to nearly 20 fields, including a large stadium. The site is adjacent to where the proposed amphitheater is to be built.
``I can see some great things around here in the future,'' said Knott, standing in the middle of what used to be a corn field. ``They could schedule some events to be held there while we have tournaments that draw teams from all over the country. I can see some really big events happening right here.'' MEMO: Anyone interested in helping with the project or donating funds can
reach Knott at 456-0578. Contributions can be sent to the Hampton Roads
Soccer Council in care of the Virginia Beach Foundation, P.O. Box 4629,
Virginia Beach, Va. 23454-4629. All donations are tax deductible.
ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Wielding a bush ax, inmate James Holbrook of the Virginia Beach
sheriff's work force helps clear the land behind Princess Anne Park.
The work crews worked with teams from the city's landscaping
division and saved the soccer council thousands of dollars on the
initial clearing costs.
Sheriff's Capt. Jack Pallett and Karen Knott, administrator for the
Hampton Roads Soccer Council, at the site that could become nearly
20 soccer fields, including a large stadium.
by CNB