Soccer Symposium Task Force Report

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Commissioner Barry Jacobs concluded the symposium by thanking everyone for participating. He pointed out that the task force represented a broad-based coalition, bringing together the schools, the towns, the county, the private soccer organizations, and the public at large. He noted that a solution to the identified need for additional facilities would require the continued support of all these entities. He also encouraged participants to make their desires for additional soccer facilities known to their elected officials. Recommendations At a meeting held after the Soccer Symposium, task force members concluded that additional work was needed in three areas, and formed subcommittees to develop draft recommendations for the entire group to consider. The three identified areas were: Access Issues —Specifically this subcommittee was charged with identifying ways to make programming available across various racial, ethnic, gender, and age groups. Rick Kennedy chaired this committee; its report is shown in Attachment A. Models/Economic Development—This subcommittee was to look at models of public/private partnerships in various locations across the state and region and to estimate the potential economic impact of soccer in Orange County under select scenarios. Dianne Reid chaired the committee; its report is shown in Attachment B. Inter-league Cooperation —This subcommittee focused on ways to ensure cooperation among the soccer leagues, including ways to share practice fields and any complex for soccer matches that might be developed. The group also examined public/private partnership models in relation to cooperative arrangements. Patrick Sullivan chaired this committee; its report is shown in Attachment C. Based upon the work of the subcommittees and the task force as a whole, the group has reached consensus on the following findings of fact: • Facilities do not currently meet the demand for soccer fields. • Due to the limited number of fields, fields are overused, resulting in poor (and potentially dangerous) field conditions. • Latino teams have great difficulty securing fields due to the lack of language fluency, limitations of available transportation, and a lack of knowledge about procedures for securing fields. • Relative to many other sports, soccer has low equipment costs and is thus relatively inexpensive to play. (As one citizen said at the symposium, "You only need a ball and some level ground.") • Soccer deserves promotion because it is a "clean industry" that has positive net economic benefits, while promoting teamwork and a healthy life-style. • Positive economic development impacts (in terms of tourism expenditures) result from hosting tournament play. Task force members also conducted research on the average cost of construction for fields, excluding design cost and the cost of land. Based upon data supplied by the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) for the development costs of two fields in Raleigh and twelve proposed fields in the southern part of Wake County, basic field development (clearing, grading, sedimentation and erosion control, seeding, provision of gravel roads and parking, basic