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Boone County to Develop Soccer Complex
The Boone County Fiscal Court on January 22nd awarded a contract to Clough-Harbor Associates/Land Consultants for phase one engineering work to develop a soccer complex on Ky. 8 in northern Boone County. Clough-Harbor Sports is a nationally recognized design firm in sports facilities.
The property known as “Valley Orchards” lies just east of Giles Conrad Park along the Ohio River and consists of approximately 85 acres. The county obtained this piece of property in 2004 after purchasing it from Charles and Doris Hempfling. The goal is to develop a first class tournament facility of up to 15 full-sized fields, with a full-service concession building, ample parking and other facilities to support weekend games and large tournaments.
According to Parks Director, David Whitehouse, there are over 3,800 children and adults that are involved with soccer in Boone County. Whitehouse went on to say, “When you have that many people using the fields’ everyday it doesn’t take long for the fields to get in bad shape.”
In addition to creating more places to play soccer, the facility could provide a substantial economic benefit to the County. Assistant County Administrator Tim Williams said, “By hosting tournaments, there’s an opportunity for a tremendous economic development impact for the community. When you consider an average tournament can host 80 to 100 teams that would bring in approximately 585 players, more than 900 parents and up to 300 siblings from outside a 100-mile radius that requires overnight lodging and food the economic impact for the County could be in the millions if the complex were to host multiple tournaments.”
During this process the County formed a partnership the three soccer leagues that use Boone County’s fields. Representatives from Boone County Youth Soccer, Northern Kentucky United Soccer Club and Northern Kentucky Soccer Academy all met with County officials to help discuss the vision for the property and select a design consultant. The soccer leagues are also helping the county pay for the design of the complex. The county had budgeted money the last two years to design the complex and will spend $40,000 on the design. The soccer groups contributed a total of $15,000.
While no county funds have been designated for construction, the Phase One work will allow a better estimate for the overall cost to complete the project.
