Plans unveiled for city-county soccer complex

The city of Las Vegas and Clark County unveiled plans Monday to jointly fund a $6 million soccer complex for the estimated 10,000 children sent scrambling each weekend around the valley in search of a field.

County Commissioner Lance Malone showed off designs for the nine-field complex at Lake Mead Boulevard and Tenaya Way during Monday's City Council meeting.

Because the funding of parks and recreation facilities is a problem shared by the city and county, cooperation between the two will help make parks and fields a reality.

"We're here today with a lot of enthusiasm that this is going to help serve those needs," Malone said.

City Councilman Larry Brown, who has been trying to get land for soccer fields, called the park "good for the city, good for the county."

The proposed park will be built on 60 acres adjacent to Cimarron Memorial High School.

In a separate item at Monday's meeting, the council authorized city staff to apply for a park-site land lease with the Bureau of Land Management for 160 acres.

After the soccer complex is built, the remaining 100 acres will also be dedicated for park use.

The city will also seek 292.5 acres of park land from the BLM along Summerlin Parkway between Durango Drive and Rainbow Boulevard. About 2.5 acres of the land is earmarked for a fire station near the southwest corner of Buffalo Drive and Washington Avenue. The remaining 290 acres would be put out for bid for proposals to build recreation facilities.

Mark Hector, of the U.S. Youth Soccer Association-Nevada, said soccer fields are so desperately needed that young players were getting injured on overused football and baseball fields that were worn down to rock.

"Each of the sports needs their own facility, otherwise we're ruining the parks," Hector said.

As early as 2001, the soccer complex could play host to the national youth soccer championships. The complex will also help attract regional tournaments and bring revenue to the city.

Malone and Brown said they are also working together on a baseball complex proposal. The soccer complex interlocal agreement is expected to be signed in the next few weeks.

Councilman Michael McDonald, who sponsors youth soccer teams, said the complex will help reduce the distance parents must travel to shuttle their children to fields available for games and practices.

In another soccer-related item, the City Council approved $79,000 to Allegro Consultants to design and engineer contract documents for bidding soccer field lighting at Brinley and Gibson middle schools and at Vegas Verde Elementary School.

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