CITY TO BUILD NEW SOCCER FIELDS ON WEST SIDE

Mayor Don Plusquellic announced this morning that the City of Akron is proposing to purchase a 38-acre site on White Pond Drive at Copley Road for the construction of soccer fields to serve Northwest Akron. The House of the Lord church on Diagonal Road owns the property. The City will construct nine soccer fields on the site that could be ready for play by the latter part of 2002. This will become the largest soccer complex in the city of Akron. The City will also build a parking area on the site. The City of Akron will pay the church $240,000 for the property. Cost of construction has not yet been determined.

Plusquellic said at his weekly news conference, "This is the same facility we had planned to build on part of an 86-acre parcel the City of Akron owned north of Bath Road. But, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park expressed an interest in purchasing that land from us for its use so we worked to find an alternate site. We are pleased that the leadership at The House of the Lord church stepped in to help us create this much needed resource for the children in our community."

The church had acquired this parcel for future development, but soil conditions are, in the words of Deputy Mayor for Economic Development James Phelps, "questionable for development". Conditions, however, are favorable for open field game activities.

The proposed sale will be introduced to Akron City Council in September.

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