FARMINGTON -- The plan to develop a four-field soccer complex at the Legacy Events Center grounds is gaining some footing -- and possibly two more fields.
On Tuesday, the Davis County Commission approved making an application to the Farmington Planning Commission for a conditional-use permit to develop four competition soccer fields as part of the county-owned center at 151 S. 1100 West.
In addition, the county is applying to build a Davis County Sheriff's Office maintenance shed to keep its vehicles and equipment out of the elements, as well as a public restroom/work bay building that would be situated between the center's outdoor arena grandstands and the soccer fields.
The Farmington Planning Commission will act on the application and forward its recommendation to the city council, which has final responsibility over the fields. That decision is expected to be made in June.
If approved by city officials, the soccer fields would be developed on 10 acres on the southeast portion of the center property, said Legacy Events Center Director Dave Hansen.
"We're still kind of in the preliminaries," Hansen said when asked about the total cost of the soccer fields, maintenance shed and public restrooms. "There is no final cost on it yet."
Initial estimates put the cost of developing the soccer fields at $302,000. The county's plan has the support of several entities, as well as Mayor Scott Harbertson.
Harbertson said the city has had a couple of meetings with county officials regarding its proposal, something he supports to the point of looking at expanding the county's idea and developing two more soccer fields on 20 acres of city-owned land south of the county center.
"Our idea was to go into a mutual agreement to expand that (project)," he said.
Adding two soccer fields to the county's four fields would allow the soccer complex to draw the larger weekend tournaments, Harbertson said, while giving Farmington the fields it needs during the week for city soccer leagues.
"So it becomes a joint use," Harbertson said.
Kaysville City Parks and Recreation, Utah Youth Soccer Association and the Davis Area Convention & Visitor's Bureau also support the concept, based on the lack of playing fields for teen and adult competitive soccer leagues.
"We don't have anything on tap to build anything for a long, long time," Kaysville City Recreation Program Specialist Robyn Dickson has said.
About 200 teens in the Kaysville area participate in competitive soccer leagues.
The biggest concern the Utah Youth Soccer Association faces is the lack of playing fields, said Dave Mills, chairman of UYSA District No. 4, which covers Bountiful to North Ogden.
The county is not looking to compete with city recreation programs, Hansen said, but to offer a place for local and traveling competitive soccer teams to play.
Some potential funding sources to develop the fields involve the use of tourism tax revenues, as soccer events draw visitors from outside the area, and flood-control funds, as the fields could serve as a flood detention basin.
Hansen said he hopes the county would make a return on the investment through the dollars soccer participants and spectators spend in the community while attending games and tournaments.
The hope is to have the county fields ready for play in the next year or two, he said.
Harbertson said he envisions Farmington's portion of the project coming together in the next five years.
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