Santa Monica Parents Want More Soccer Fields for Children

Santa Monica, a city that has its hands full trying to deal with homeless people, rent control and a building boom, now has another issue to kick around: a cry for more soccer fields.

A parents group calling itself the Santa Monica Children’s Athletic League plans to address the City Council on Tuesday to draw attention to the need for more athletic fields and better maintenance of existing sites.

Equal Emphasis

“We are trying to focus on our children,” said Susan Wilson, a spokeswoman for the league. “We are trying to assure that the parks are safe, that permits are enforced and that the fields are maintained.”

Wilson said that although the primary focus is on the need for more soccer fields because play will begin next month, the group is also asking for more grounds for Little League and a girls basketball league.

Wilson said she would like the City Council to place the same emphasis on youth sports that it places on public art.

“I think that the arts have been given a great priority,” she said. “They spend $100,000 to buy an arch for Wilshire Boulevard.”

The problem stems from too many people wanting to use too little park space. Space is so tight that many city recreational programs use Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Santa Monica College facilities.

Santa Monica, a city of 90,000 people, has 23 parks with a total of 104 acres, according to the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.

Wilson said youth teams with city permits often can’t use athletic fields because adults playing pick-up games won’t leave. “If they see a woman with a bunch of kids, they are not going to get off the field,” she said.

Children Important Too

Although acknowledging that the homeless problems and rent control may be more pressing social issues, Wilson said sports programs for children are important too.

“The City Council is trying to set an example with its programs for the homeless,” she said. “Well, we should also be setting an example for sports program for our kids. If kids are playing sports, they are learning all kinds of important things, like teamwork and dedication. And they are staying off the streets.”

In the short term, Wilson said, some of the problems can be resolved by having park rangers enforce permits and by providing lights at some parks for night games. That is particularly important, she said, during the shorter daylight periods in the fall and winter, when soccer is played.

Mike Berkofsky, Santa Monica regional commissioner for the American Youth Soccer Organization, said the problem has gotten so great that some children may have to be turned away this year.

Berkofsky said he had hoped to recruit new players and coaches, particularly among Latino adults who play pickup games in the evening. But without an additional field, Berkofsky said, he will be lucky to accommodate the 1,100 youths who enrolled last year.

Barbara Franklin Moran, the city’s director of cultural and recreation services, said the AYSO has legitimate concerns. She said the city plans to monitor parks to enforce permits and has sent out bids to install lights at Clovis Park.

Nonresident Children

She added, however, that one of the problems with the soccer league is that about 20% of the children are nonresidents, yet the league wants all its games played within the city.

“We have told them that we are willing to help them find space in the city of Los Angeles, but they don’t seem to want that,” she said.

Wilson said parents don’t want to send their children outside of Santa Monica because the Los Angeles parks are unsafe. Besides, she said, the children are not placed on teams based on residency, and it would be difficult to determine which teams should play outside of Santa Monica.

Moran said the city has established a sports advisory council to help in scheduling use and maintenance of the athletic fields. The council is also preparing a study on additional sports facilities needs. Jean Gebman, chairman of the sports council, said he expects the study to be finished next month.

Although he acknowledged that the report is likely to conclude that more fields are needed, Gebman said it was too soon to come up with solutions before the problems had been identified.

Land Near Airport Noted

Wilson, however, said one obvious remedy is to use some of the land around Santa Monica Municipal Airport.

She said that if a proposed commercial development near the airport is reduced, as some community leaders want because of traffic problems, the excess land could be used for recreation.

Art supporters are also looking to use any excess land, but Wilson said recreation should take priority because open space is more difficult to find.

“Artist can use all kinds of alternative space,” she said. “This is the last large piece of land. We could use one of the hangars and turn it into a basketball court or an indoor soccer field.”

She said her group plans to lobby the Planning Commission next month when it meets to discuss the commercial development.