GARDEN GROVE : Soccer Park Project Moving on Schedule

Construction on Orange County’s first lighted soccer park with a fenced-in playing field is moving along on schedule, with the park expected to open Nov. 1.

The $500,000 facility will feature two artificial turf fields that will be surrounded by walls similar to those around a hockey rink. There is no roof, and the seating is on bleachers outside the fences.

One field is regulation size, 200 feet by 85 feet, for players 13 years of age or older. The other is 90 feet by 50 feet and is for players of ages 4 through 12.

Both will be surrounded by dasher board to keep the ball in play at all times in an attempt to speed up the games and make them more exciting, according to Tom Schwartz, 31, one of five owners and vice president of Indoor/Outdoor Soccer Park Inc., which has operated a similar facility in Poway in San Diego County for eight years.

Schwartz said he expects the complex to be “a sellout” in the first few months because of the popularity of soccer in Southern California and the demand for fields where teams can play at night. The facility is planned to seat 800.

The soccer park is in Garden Grove Park, across the street from the Bolsa Grande High School football stadium and next to the Garden Grove Freeway.

Schwartz said the park expects to draw from throughout Orange County and Southern California. Owners want to have about 200 teams playing seven days a week beginning about 1 p.m. and ending about 11 p.m.

Indoor/Outdoor Soccer has signed a 20-year lease on the property, with an option to extend the agreement for five years. At the end of the lease, the soccer park, which includes an 1,800-square-foot clubhouse, pro shop, snack bar and bleachers, will become the property of the city.

The company will pay a minimum of $1,500 a month to the city for the use of the property, which also is near the Atlantis children’s play area in Garden Grove Park.

Teams will be charged an entry fee of $525 for a guaranteed eight games. For more information, call the Garden Grove Arena Soccer Park at (800) 741 4260.