Arena Soccer Center OKd for East Side

Stressed-out workers stuck in traffic snarls on Ventura’s east side may soon have a way to vent pent-up frustrations: arena soccer.

The game is played on fields about one-third the size of regular soccer fields by six-person teams, said Jarvis Kelly, manager of the Santa Clarita Arena Soccer Center. He described the fast-paced game as a cross between soccer and ice hockey.

The Ventura City Council on Monday night approved a zoning change for an arena soccer center to be built on vacant land in east Ventura.

With that, Arena Soccer Centers of America can begin construction of two outdoor hockey-rink-sized fields at the southeastern corner of Walker Street and Mesa Verde Avenue. The rest of the site is occupied by a 28,000-square-foot skating rink, and a 42-lane bowling alley.

Arena soccer is popular in Santa Clarita, Los Angeles and Kern counties. Ventura city planners and an Arena Soccer spokesman said the game’s popularity is working its way up the coast.

The Planning Commission approved the hybrid soccer project May 20, but Monday’s zoning change was necessary to allow the project to move forward.

Rayna Bochum, project planner for the city, said the Planning Commission approved the project partially because it will provide a much-needed outlet for drivers who want to get out of rush-hour traffic.

“This is like an entertainment center,” she said. “ If someone leaves their job, instead of getting into traffic, they can go play soccer.”

The fields are outdoors, but each is surrounded by a 4-foot-high wall of polyethylene siding with a 27-foot-high net on top.

Kelly said the game is popular with women and coed teams.

“But the biggest crowds are adults going out and learning to play soccer just like their kids,” he said.

The Ventura center is scheduled to open in mid-October, Kelly said.