City officals break ground on new soccer complex

Photo by Mike Eckels Several Decatur city officials break ground on the new Decatur Soccer complex at Veterans Park in Decatur Sept. 12. They include Jeff Gravette (front, left), Linda Martin, Bob Tharp and Lester Austin. Back row includes James Boston (left), Pat Austin and Kim Wilkins.
Photo by Mike Eckels Several Decatur city officials break ground on the new Decatur Soccer complex at Veterans Park in Decatur Sept. 12. They include Jeff Gravette (front, left), Linda Martin, Bob Tharp and Lester Austin. Back row includes James Boston (left), Pat Austin and Kim Wilkins.

— Over the next few weeks, the northwest corner of Veterans Park will be transformed from an open field to a new soccer complex.

Members of the Decatur City Council, school board, planning commission, and city officials were on hand Sept. 12 to break ground for the new complex.

The plans now call for the goals on the adult field to run east and west between the Edmiston Park ball field and State Highway 102. The sidelines will be built extra wide to accommodate two smaller youth soccer fields whose goals will run north and south.

At present there are no plans to build bleachers at the complex. Like several other soccer fields in the area, spectators will need to make their own seating arrangements (blankets or lawn chairs) to watch matches at the Veterans Park complex.

Work is scheduled to begin on the complex the week of Sept. 19 and is expected to be complete by the end of October, weather permitting.

Once completed, the Decatur Youth Soccer program will finally have a permanent place to host home and tournament matches throughout the summer. With the full-size field, the possibility of a Decatur adult soccer league could become a reality in the near future.

General News on 09/21/2016