Modesto youth league nearing goal on new soccer fields

A youth soccer league that serves hundreds of children in west and south Modesto and other communities has taken a big step toward its goal of having its own playing fields.

The Tuolumne River Regional Park commission Wednesday approved having staff work with the the Stanislaus Youth Soccer League on an agreement calling for the league to develop six soccer fields at Bellenita Park in west Modesto by turning several acres of dirt into green turf. The league and its families would be responsible for maintaining the fields.

The regional park consists of more than 500 acres of parkland along 7 miles of the Tuolumne River, according to the city of Modesto’s website, and includes Bellenita. The regional park is owned by Modesto, Ceres and Stanislaus County.

There is a wrinkle in the plan: finding water to keep the soccer fields green. Modesto Parks Planning and Development Manager Loren Holt said the city has a closed well at its Sutter Avenue wastewater treatment plant, which is about a fifth of a mile from the proposed soccer fields. He said the city must determine whether the well can be used.

“We want to see what we can do to make this happen,” said Holt, who also is a TRRP staff member. “But as far as the water goes, that’s still in the details.”

He expects an agreement could come back to the TRRP commission early next year.

Stanislaus Youth Soccer League vice president Gustavo Calderon said having their own soccer fields would be a source of pride for the league’s more than 1,000 players and their families. He said the league has used soccer facilities throughout the area, including the one at Modesto’s Mary Grogan Park, but said the facilities are not convenient for the league’s families and cost too much to rent.

The league is working with former Modesto Councilman Brad Hawn and Congregations Building Community director Homero Mejia on the project. Hawn teamed up with the Tuolumne River Trust several years ago to work with families in Modesto’s airport neighborhood to create a soccer field in Legion Park, which is part of the Tuolumne River Regional Park.

The Tuolumne River Trust is looking at what role it could play in the development of the Bellenita Park soccer fields.

Stanislaus Youth Soccer League families will provide the volunteer labor to convert the dirt fields into soccer fields, which involves grading them, digging trenches for the irrigation lines, installing sprinklers and planting grass. But help is needed in the form of more volunteers, donations of cash and supplies, and the lending of equipment.

This story was originally published November 21, 2014 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Modesto youth league nearing goal on new soccer fields."