Tacoma has a youth sports field shortage. Where should new ones be built?
Tacoma could soon be home to more outdoor youth athletic fields.
The question is, where should they be built?
Metro Parks is searching for people to join a steering committee to research, identify and analyze possible sites for a future eight-field sports complex that could consist of lighted, synthetic turf fields, parking areas and restrooms.
The steering committee will be made up of 20-25 individuals, depending on how many people express interest in joining. Those interested can fill out a form online at metroparkstacoma.org. The registration form will close Feb. 28.
Anyone is welcome to apply or receive information about the project, and Metro Parks is looking for a “wide breadth” of membership.
“As the steering committee finishes its specific tasks throughout the project, public meetings and associated outreach will be held to ensure we provide the general public the opportunity to provide feedback,” said Joe Brady, chief strategic officer for Metro Parks.
Over the course of the next five months, the steering committee will meet three or four times, Brady estimates.
In 2016, a joint study determined that of the fields owned by Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks, a majority were considered “low-quality” or are not equipped to be used year-round for reasons including lack of lighting and turf or inadequate drainage.
The study highlighted a “community-wide shortfall” of fields for youth sports.
“Our northwest climate creates challenges for the ever-increasing demand for outdoor fields that can accommodate a variety of sports year round,” according to an email from Metro Parks. “Data suggests the need for eight fields to accommodate community needs and interests which if aggregated within a complex could provide a fiscally sustainable program for operation.”
The search for a steering committee also comes months after a group of Tacoma residents spoke out against transforming an area of natural wetlands near the Tacoma Community College (TCC) campus into sports fields.
The controversy was spurred by a feasibility study released in May 2019 on the proposed Heidelberg Sports Complex, where an estimated $300 million would construct a new soccer stadium, mixed-use development and additional outdoor youth sports fields. Metro Parks has now taken on the project to create more fields in Tacoma.
The feasibility study identified possible locations near TCC, Mount Tahoma High School, Meadow Park Golf Course and a former landfill. The TCC site was selected as the preferred option for new athletic fields, with total project costs at around $34 million.
Some Tacoma residents resist the TCC site, instead pushing for other locations such as the landfill site.
“The Heidelberg Sports Village feasibility study was quite clear in determining that due to construction costs and conflicts with municipal operations, the landfill was not an optimal site for this facility,” Brady said in an email. “That being said, the steering committee will revisit those findings during this project.”
An updated recommendation will be brought forward sometime this spring, after the committee meetings. Final decisions will be made by the Board of Park Commissioners and potential partners, subject to available funding.
