PYSA finds complex site

POLSON - The Polson Youth Soccer Association is moving another step towards their goal of having a soccer complex to call home.

"Will that by itself be the linchpin that completely changes our program?" PYSA Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Heutmaker asked. "No, but it's a big part of it."

Currently the PYSA plays their games at the Kerr Dam Fields, but they don't play any home games or host any soccer tournaments due to the conditions of the field, Heutmaker said.

"We just wanted to have more control of how the fields were maintained and how they were laid out," Heutmaker said. "We could host other teams, not for just tournaments but for regular season games."

A large issue that the soccer association faces is the amount of travel involved since no home games are played.

"One of the things about playing soccer in Montana is, because you have a really short season and you have such great distances to travel, every Saturday you have to play two games," Heutmaker said.

The soccer teams go as far as Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Hamilton and Stevensville to play games. A new soccer complex would allow them to play half of their regular-season games at home.

"Those are 4-5 hour drives," Heutmaker said. "You have a game at 11, but you have to be there at 10. You're leaving at dawn and by the time you get home it's midnight."

All the travel can sometimes have an adverse effect on a youth soccer program.

"There are some kids that don't play in the spring because the parents don't want to travel as much," Heutmaker said. "We don't host game here. We don't host tournaments here. We don't host larger soccer camps here. Therefore, we don't make enough money. Therefore we don't train our coaches as well. Therefore, our players might leave."

The answer to this problem is a section of land near the Lakeview Cemeteries that could provide the many soccer players around the area a new place to play.

"This is in the best interest for everyone," PYSA President Mike Moll said. "This is the community's field."

After negotiating a lease with the cemetery district, the PYSA negotiated a leader and had it approved in an open meeting, giving them access to the property.

Heutmaker said that the lease is relatively short, but has renewal options and is essentially for free. The plot of land is 14 acres and has enough room for four full-sized soccer fields and one U12-sized field. There is also plans for a concessions stand.

Now the construction process begins for the PYSA.

"Were hoping to have it done by next spring but it depends on when we can raise the money to do it," Huetmaker said.

Huetmaker said he thinks the project will cost anywhere between $300,000 to $400,000 to complete. They've already received a grant from the Polson Rotary Club to go towards the concession stand, restroom and storage area. An anonymous donor gave $25,000 when they passed away. US Soccer also offers grants for small towns.

While the design work on the fields has already been done, it's just a matter of getting man and material working on the site.

"People are looking for projects. If we had the money, we'd have them working for us and we'd be cranking right now," Huetmaker said.

Huetmaker said that the land is set up so that they might only need to scrape from one side of the grounds to the next since the top soil is fine. That could make it a potentially quick project.

"There's really nothing complicated about it," Huetmaker said. "There's not incredible engineering needed for it to be done. It's just about having the funding to do it."

Another reason for creating a soccer complex is the opportunity to host tournaments.

According to Moll and Huetmaker, tournaments can bring money not only to the youth program through entrance fees but also to the town.

"You're bringing in a lot of revenue for the city," Moll said.

With a large tournament, around 600 hundred people could potentially be supporting the local economy, Moll said.

"Do you think the restaurant and hotel owners would appreciate it if 600 people came for a weekend?" Huetmaker said. "It's a huge boost to the economy."

Moll said he could start doing some work on the complex as soon as next week, but again it depends on how much the available funds will allow them to do. He hopes to have one soccer field done for next year.

"It might be a little ambitious, but that's what I'm hoping for," Moll said.