If you live in Bellevue and have a son or daughter that has played soccer in the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association (LWYSA), then chances are you have visited 60 Acres Park in Redmond, the largest soccer complex west of the Mississippi.

Home to LWYSA matches as well as national tournaments and a myriad of other events, the aging park requires as much as $500,000 of maintenance and upgrade costs annually.  Now, a new nonprofit organization is spearheading the effort to raise the funds needed to keep the park in top shape.

“Our maintenance costs have now approached almost half a million a year,” explained Curt Bateman, Director of Community Development for the LWYSA’s Crossfire soccer club. “We fund that solely from user fees and our own budget, so there’s no taxpayer money that goes into this.

More than soccer

What many visitors to 60 Acres Park may not realize is that the facility’s use goes far beyond its 25 soccer fields.

“Every Wednesday during the summer, the Seattle Area Soaring Society comes down and has their club night, and on any given morning you’ll see several guys down here flying their electric planes,” said Bateman, adding the local Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts participate in rocket launches at the park. “We’re very pleased to be the only venue that you can do rocket launches on.”

The Potlatch Ultimate Frisbee tournament was held on Fourth of July weekend, drawing hundreds of the top Ultimate players from the Pacific Northwest and Canada, and the park is conveniently located next to the popular Sammamish River Trail, which connects Eastside recreational hot spots.

In addition, last year the park hosted the opening of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure event in September, which drew 3,000 participants and volunteers.

Recently, Bateman met with representatives from Hopelink to discuss future plans for a fundraiser, which may involve a 5K run.

“It is right at 5K from Marymoor to 60 Acres, so that works out really well,” Bateman said. “We just did a food drive for Hopelink a couple weeks ago, and the donations were incredible, something like 2,500 pounds of food. We’d like to do something really large to aid them.”

However, the park is best known for soccer, however, and as the hundreds of kids of all ages who use the facility on a daily basis from June to October can attest, it is a vital part of the community.

“Our goal with this organization is to maintain the fields so that everybody, not just soccer players, gets a chance at this community resource,” said Redmond City Council member David Carson, who is on the organization’s advisory board. “It’s an amazing resource for the community and we need to take care of it.”

An economic boost

Carson pointed out that a well-maintained 60 Acres Park will drive money into the surrounding Eastside region as seen during the park’s hosting of the girls’ national soccer championships, when 120 teams from around the country and 180 from the LWYSA came down for one week during the summer. Those 300 teams booked 2,000 hotel rooms for the tournament.

“That’s part of the importance of 60 Acres,” Carson said.

Given King County’s tight budget, needed money comes from the LWYSA budget and park user fees that are included in soccer registration costs – and now fundraisers put on by the organization.

Friends of 60 Acres’ first big campaign is under way, and it will allow park supporters to purchase engraved pavers. Individuals can purchase 4×8-inch bricks for $65 or an 8×8-inch for $120. Business sponsorship opportunities are available at the $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 levels which include larger pavers mounted in a prominent location at the park.

“There are a lot of people who played here 30 years ago, and we’re hoping they’ll pony up and buy a paver, and that some corporations buy one at a higher level,” Bateman said on the fundraiser. “We’re hoping to raise a quarter of a million dollars.”

The park needs an improvement to the water irrigation system. It had to open late the last two years because it has been too wet, only to not have enough water once July and the warmer summer weather hit.

“There’s not enough electricity to run a bigger pump, so we’re pumping out of the river,” Bateman said. “We want to put some sprinklers in the ground and buy larger irrigators so we can keep the fields a little softer and grow better grass.”

Added Carson, “This is a way that the community can support (the park), en masse, on a grand scale and get the bang for the buck that you don’t see from government.”

Tim Watanabe can be contacted attwatanabe@redmond-reporter.com

For more information, visit www.friendsof60acres.org. If you are interested in purchasing a paver or becoming a corporate sponsor, click on the “Donations” tab on the left side of the page or contact Bateman at (425) 821-1741 or e-mail info@friendsof60acres.org.