The nonprofit group with plans to build a soccer complex with at
least two dozen fields in San Benito County says that it will
likely know by Thanksgiving whether it will purchase a piece of
land along Highway 25 for the project.
Hollister – The nonprofit group with plans to build a soccer complex with at least two dozen fields in San Benito County says that it will likely know by Thanksgiving whether it will purchase a piece of land along Highway 25 for the project.
In September, the San Jose Soccer Complex Foundation made a successful offer to purchase 170 acres in the county on Highway 25 near Shore Road. Feasibility studies of the property are moving forward “fairly well,” said Dave Morton, the foundation’s president.
“We should have a good picture right around Thanksgiving,” he said. “Everyone is excited about the prospective site.”
The foundation hopes to build 24 to 26 soccer fields on the property, as well as some permanent buildings, that will draw people from throughout the region – and even the nation – for youth soccer league games 45 weekends per year, according to Morton.
The San Jose Soccer Complex Foundation, an offshoot of the California Youth Soccer Association North, was formed in 2003 to find a new place for the soccer association to hold games and tournaments.
Currently, tournaments are held at a soccer complex in Morgan Hill. The foundation failed in June to come to an agreement to build a permanent soccer complex in Morgan Hill, which plans to convert its facility into an outdoor sports complex that would include baseball, softball and football.
If the San Benito County deal goes through, the foundation will start with building 12 to 14 fields, with further construction being phased in, according to Morton.
Supervisor Don Marcus and Sheriff Curtis Hill have said that they support the complex being built in San Benito.
With El Rancho San Benito, a proposed major housing project on Highway 25, across the way, traffic is a concern.
Marcus has said that, since soccer events will be held on weekends, increased traffic will not affect week-day commuters. Hill suggested that the entrances and exits for the complex be on Shore and Frazier Lake roads, rather than Highway 25.
