Although official numbers aren’t available, organizers for the opening of the Columbus Soccer Complex estimate more than 2,000 people attended Saturday’s festivities. And for Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority Executive Director Roger Short, the grand opening was a major success.
‘The grand opening went really well,” Short said. “We had a great turnout.”
Short said the only noticeable problem was with parking.
“We had every kid that plays soccer here at one time, so parking was a little bit of a problem,” said Short. “But we normally won’t have that many teams here at one time, so we should be OK.”
Some local residents praised the facility and its completion but pondered the parking situation.
“I didn’t know that this much had already been completed until I got here and it’s a beautiful project,” said Bill Benson. “The City of Columbus and Lowndes County have done a terrific job developing this thing, but maybe need a few more parking spots.”
“Y’all have a great complex here, there’s no doubt about that,” said Ronnie Gentry. “The fields are in good shape and it’s all laid out fine, but they need to do something about the parking area. It’s just too far away for the little kids.”
The park contains 331 parking spaces, and Short said both the Hitching Lot Farmers Market and the Trotter Convention Center parking lots could be used for soccer parking. Both were recently re-paved by the city with additional help from Lowndes County workers. Short said additional grass areas could be used for parking when tournament play begins next year. Parking along the south end of the facility is parallel parking, something city engineer Kevin Stafford was needed to create both a city-scape setting allow additional space for field areas.
“If we had set the parking up on a 90-degree angle on the south end, it would have given us less field space,” Stafford said.
Another potential problem is lack of restrooms. With a set of restrooms on the north end, visitors on the south end or forced to walk to the other side of the complex or use the facilities at the Farmers Market.
“We already have the design for both south end restrooms and a concession stand,” Stafford said. “The water and sewer hookups are already in place. The second set of facilities was part of the original design but the money wasn’t there. The restrooms cost about $240,000 to complete.”
Additional restrooms are also at the top of Short’s wish list.
“Hopefully the next phase of the park will be additional restrooms and a playground for the children,” said Short. “When we start tournament play next year, we will probably set up portable restrooms along the south end of the complex.”
The presence of 2,000 or more people attending the opening day ceremonies did not go unnoticed by downtown merchants. A spokesperson for River Hill Chevron said they were “extremely busy all day” and Frannie Harper of Cafe Aromas also Saturday was a noticeably busy day.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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