Mayor wants soccer
groups to run park

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

At groundbreaking ceremonies yesterday for the $11 million Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park, Mayor Jeremy Harris said he wants local soccer groups to pick up the cost of operating and maintaining the facility.

"Our goal is to try to get one of those organizations, or a conglomerate of those organizations, to take over the operations and maintenance and scheduling," Harris said.

The city soon will seek proposals from groups that might be able to operate the park, he said.

But leaders in the Oahu soccer community say they don't know if they can come up with the estimated $400,000 in annual maintenance costs.

Rick Freehan, former president of the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association, said the island's soccer organizations have held preliminary discussions about forming a group to run the facility.

The groups believe they may need to charge teams for practicing and playing games at the new facility, Freehan said. Add those charges with revenues from concessions, entrance fees for major events, sponsorships and other contributions, the organizations might only be able to pick up $250,000 annually, Freehan said.