The Warren Sentinel

Article date: April 14, 2005

Soccerplex  ground breaking

By: Kevin Seabrooke

Town, county and other officials involved in making the dream of a championship quality soccer facility in Front Royal a reality gathered Monday night at the pavilion at Ed Stump field and, with gold painted shovels, tossed some red clay to signify the beginning of a new phase for the park.

The first phase of building, already begun with preliminary grading, will be completed by Ballard Sports of Cary, N.C., and will include four fields,   If all goes according to schedule, the fields will be open by next spring, A second phase, with three more fields, is planned.

Members of the Town Council, Board of Supervisors, the School Board, the Sheriff’s Office, the EDA , the EPA, FMC and families and children involved in the Front Royal Youth Soccer Association attended the ceremony.

“This is an important milestone,” County Administrator Doug Stanley said in his opening remarks.  “These events are important for the community to be involved in, especially this one.  It has taken us six years to get here, we all look forward to the grand opening of the Skyline Soccerplex next spring.”

EDA executive director Paul Carroll said the occasion was not only a milestone but an important transition for the Avtex Superfund site.

“It’s the first piece of land from the site to be used.” he said.  “We’re moving from remediation and cleanup to development of the Royal Phoenix Project,” he said.

Doug Homer of the U.S. Soccer Foundation was pleased to see a facility of this size being developed.

“This is probably one of the best signs for the future of our sport,” he said.  “We’re thrilled to be a part of this project.”

Speaking for the future generation of Front Royal, the head of the local soccer association thanked all parties for their hard work.

“We want to thank everybody involved in making this happen,” Said Glenn Cornell, president of the Front Royal Youth Soccer Association.  “We especially want to thank the people who have helped that will never set foot on these fields.  You’ve given Front Royal soccer something it has never had: a home.”

Board of Supervisors chairman Tony Carter, Mayor James Eastham, and Sheriff Daniel McEathron all shared memories of what the field had been like before the clean-up and initial grading.

“I used to coach some of the kids here,” Carter said.  “These fields will be a little bit different.  No broken glass or pieces of metal.”

Mayor Eastham said that when his son was playing on the old field, “you didn’t call ‘East’ or ‘West’ before the game, you called ‘uphill’ or ‘downhill’.”

“When I coached my son here, we used to flip a coin to see who would go downhill first,” McEathron said.