City responds to soccer field complaints

The Westside Sports Complex near Canutillo High School is home to daily soccer practices and games, and on weekends even more athletes and spectators fill the fields.

For soccer coach Jando Perez, his priority is the safety of all players, but he told ABC-7 that is at risk with poor field conditions. He took to social media to call out the City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Department and its lack of maintenance to the fields.

“For years, El Paso has had problems the with fields, with the watering cycles or with the maintenance of the fields,” Perez told ABC-7 Saturday while his team took the field.

Perez said he has seen players with torn ACL’s and sprained ankles as a result of players stepping in holes.

The coach said he previously reached out to city officials to complain about the fields. In turn, he said officials claimed they had only received two complaints.

“The city is saying they haven’t received any complaints so we’re here to say there are plenty of complaints,” Perez said.

Last Wednesday, he created a petition with complaints about the fields’ maintenance that has garnered more than 800 signatures.

In response, the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department apologized for the deterioration of the turf and released photos of crews working on the fields, the photos were time stamped April 20.

Over the weekend, the city released a statement that said the fields lacked water supply because the system was shut down “to allow for major repairs to address leaks in the complex’s irrigation system.”

Crews have already made repairs to the system and are working to fill holes and fix low areas to improve safety.

The city also stated that the parks and recreation department has assigned its “most experienced crews” to the fields.

“I’d like to see more people get involved, speak up to the city and get involved in signing our petition in order to bring some reality to the fact that we do have an issue with our parks and recreation (department),” Perez said.

The parks and recreation department added in its statement that it “appreciates the public feedback about the field conditions.”