SANTA ANA : Soccer-Field Critics Told of New Facility
Complaints of inadequate and unsafe soccer fields were expressed Monday by about two dozen residents at the City Council meeting.
“We use Center Park and Santa Anita Park, which are constantly infested with drug users, prostitutes and homeless people,” said Rosa Ramirez, 18, who spoke on behalf of the Federation of Soccer Leagues of Orange County.
“Some children have been known to pick up needles left by drug users, and women are sometimes forced to use the men’s restroom for lack of access,” she added.
But Allen E. Doby, executive director of recreation and community services, told of plans to build a $5-million, three-field soccer facility at Centennial Park. He said the project should be completed by early 1993.
“One of the things that’s holding that up is money,” Doby said, citing an ongoing struggle to find funds for park projects.
Doby did not address the complaints about unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
City officials have invited soccer league presidents to hear an update of plans for those fields at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Southwest Senior Citizens Center on McFadden Avenue at Center Street.
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