New Fees, Rules Keep Children Off Soccer Fields, Parents Say
Some youth soccer parents said they felt embarrassed and upset after city officials kicked them out of public soccer fields because a national scout was in town — and no one used the field afterward.
A new ordinance that went into effect this month requires parents to get an additional $75 per day “events permit” and prevents the use of certain fields for practices. Officials said a permit was already issued for the park.
“It’s never been a problem. We’ve never had issues with the city because of it,” Sylvia Colbert said.
But on Sunday, Colbert said teams had a major problem when a scout with the national Olympic Development Program was in town checking out El Paso’s talent.
“When people get kicked off the fields, it makes it even harder to keep kids playing sports and off of the streets,” Cobert said.
The new fees are in addition to the the $7 per child game permit paid to the city. The charges could add up to $15,000 a year for one league alone.
“That doesn’t even put a dent into what it takes to maintain these fields,” said Paula Powell, the city’s Parks and Recreation sports manager.
Parents say they were also threatened with a hefty $500 fine and a call to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
“Did it have to come to that? I’m a little embarrassed, too, to be honest with you,” said Powell, who says she hopes for more communication in the future.
Powell says certain rules are in place to try to give everyone a chance at using the fields.
“The ordinance isn’t the problem. The problem is that we already had a permit issued for this park,” she said
Parents say what’s even more upsetting is that no one even used the field after they were kicked off.
“Unless you line the city’s coffers to pay for permits and only for games, you have no place to go,” Cobert said.
ABC-7 contacted Neal Ellis, the representative with the Olympic Development Program. He said the manner in the way they were kicked out was very poorly handled but said he still hopes to return next year.
