Sports complex plans move forward

By the end of the month the seeds will have been sown for new soccer fields at the Edmonds Sport Complex.

About 85 extra parking spaces are going in and work is starting on the irrigation system.

Next spring, the thousands of children that play sports at the park will have three new fields. One of the fields will be a multi-use field for football and soccer.

"Edmonds Sports Complex has always been an area we've looked at as being developed as not only a neighborhood sports complex, but also as a city wide complex," said Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Larry Osborne. "The thing about parks is that people use them. It adds to the overall quality of Carson City."

The facility draws at least 1,600 players from the American Youth Soccer Organization during the late spring and summer months, and around another 2,000 kids playing year-round soccer, little league and Babe Ruth baseball and Pop Warner football.

Bringing tournaments to the complex will provide an economic boon to the city as well.

"Over years it's amazing to see how it has developed from a stark-looking operation started from scratch to a major complex," Parks Commissioner Jon Plank said. "When you talk to folks from out of town they ask 'how in the world could you do this?'"

AYSO commissioner Greg Davis said the field additions will allow more kids to play sports. He said at times, soccer games get scheduled in the outfield of one of the four softball fields at the facility. Building the new fields eliminates that problems.

Carson City Youth Sports President Pete Livermore said the facility has been a work in progress for almost 20 years and the facility's new master plan allows for more growth over the next few years.

"Edmonds continues to add to the assets of the recreation programs we provide to the kids," Livermore said. "A lot of overall benefits to the city are out in those fields. It gives kids the ability to excel at something and be involved.

"Whenever you can do something for kids, you're never wasting time. Taxpayers are footing the bill, but in my opinion, it's a small investment. You can never go wrong when you do something for kids. There's no cost to that calculation."

The additions are being funded through Question 18. The roughly $580,000 budget includes field clearing and leveling, installing irrigation systems, grass seeding and parking lot construction among other projects, said Park Planner Vern Krahn. There was enough money left over during the bidding process to add trees, costs associated with tree maintenance and will help pay for BMX track lighting infrastructure. Spiess Construction should finish the project by Dec. 15.