By Robert Haugh
The Santa Clara City Council gave unanimous support to have the City Manager negotiate a license agreement with Bay FC to practice at the Youth Soccer Park.
Bay FC is a professional women’s soccer team that plays its home games at San Jose’s PayPal Park. This year, they play in the National Women’s Soccer League as an expansion team.
They won their first game in Los Angeles defeating Angel FC 1-0. Their home opener is March 30.
Santa Clara University grad and international soccer star Brandi Chastain made part of the presentation for the club.
She talked about her roots in the Mission City as she held up a poster of her grandfather who ran for school board decades ago when she was a child.
The club will pay the city between $179,000 and $225,000 for practice times during the day.
Both the club and City staff said the team’s practices would not negatively impact the youth soccer program.
Mayor Lisa Gillmor emphasized the importance of youth soccer.
“I’m here to protect and make sure I represent the youth of our community,” Gillmor said.
“Whatever we do, whatever is negotiated, I want to have the full understanding that our youth come first, no matter what.”
The club also committed to community benefits that include discount tickets for youth soccer players and FC Bay player visits to local youth teams.
Sounds like a great deal for us if the city is able to make revenue from weekday use of the fields. Are the dollars you cited for a full year or season’s use?
Everyone
I am in complete agreement, just like we have now opened up Reed and Grant to another local group during the Day, then why not The Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park.
Now here is the Caveat.
I am on board 100% as long as the renters don’t ask to use the Grass Fields for any practice sessions.
That’s the line I won’t budge on. This group wants extra space, we have it for them. Field #2 is perfect.
You have to remember Practice use and Game use, are extremely different.
“Game Use” is free flowing, with no area ever focused on for any particular amount of time.
“Practice Use” is all about focus / repetition / speed / starting / stoping / cutting / shooting / all for an extended period of time.
Just drive by and take a look at just how pristine and beautiful these two grass fields look today 12 years after they were put in.
Since the park opened in 2012 the grass fields have only been used for Games. To date no practice has ever been held on those two grass fields. We even shut these fields down for months on end.
The grass fields are rated at 50 games max per season. We also have always rotated the use of the Fields. We have done this on our own, and the City has backed us up all the way.
One strange challenge is Field 1 just happens to sit in the shadow of Levi Stadium. For many hours of the Day, it does not get the light that it needs, which makes it far more susceptible to damage. Field 3 get far more sun, and in my opinion is a lot healthier than Field 1.
Field #2 is an amazing Turf Field.
Surprisingly it has already has been fully replaced one time. And that was without the added burden of Adults using the facility. Even Anthony Becker could figure out that Adults will cause more damage to a turf field than our youth, it’s just pure physics. Because of that it will need to be replaced sooner than later.
If you don’t believe me, take a drive out to Overfelt, Mt. Pleasant, Del Mar, or Independence High. All Turf Fields that rent to Adults to play Club Soccer. All of them are in dire need of being replace.
So Is it a coincidence that my last name is Field, and here I am spending a good portion of my life looking after Field’s?
Believe it or not when I first applied to be a Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Commisioner, that was my closing statement. I said, “My last name is Field, so naturally I think I should be someone that looks after them”.
Believe it or not, I got a rare 7-0 vote to be brought on as a Volunteer member of The Santa Clara Parks and Recreation Commission.
Oh those were the days when you could volunteer without the fear of being removed for “No Reason!”
Ok, I’ll shut up about that… but for today understand when it comes to Field’s, you need to trust me here…. remember my last name is Field.
So to be clear, I am very excited that the Bay FC will train at our Youth Soccer Park.
Just don’t ask to use the Grass Fields for practice.
Burt Field
burt.field@gmail.com