September 29, 2007
Saturday AM

I want to thank Davey Lopes for his letter. I don't know Davey Lopes but he has put a finger on one of the problems that exists in our community. We need real sports fields. Specifically we need the field at Fawn Mountain completed with TURF, lights, bathrooms, covered bleachers, a concession stand and covering the whole field with a bubble.

No one wants to come here to play in gravel. Schoenbar soccer teams were disappointed once again this fall when Juneau refused to travel here to play soccer.

If we build it they will come.

I know there are those who have been working on getting this field done for years but it is time to get it done and get in done right. Last year items for the improvement of the field were 50th out of 50 on our list of priorities sent to the state for funding! Ridiculous! A turf soccer field could be used most of the year. This is economic development. A covered turf field would bring people and teams here year round.

If we built a top of the line indoor facility at Fawn Mountain we would attract teams and tourneys. It could be used for baseball practice, football, track and field, indoor and "outdoor" soccer and for many other sports year round. This is or should be the holy grail of this town's economic development.

This is not some sort of dream this can be reality. If we build a facility like this we will have teams, tourneys, and success in sports year round. Our children will be safer, drier and more in shape. Our hotels will be filled on winter weekends and our dining facilities will be more successful. This is the kind of economic development that would add to the varied great images of our town. Imagine a set of winter soccer tourneys. Imagine a set of winter track and field events. Imagine people coming here from Smithers to Whitehorse from Washington to Fairbanks for soccer year round. Imagine Ketchikan being the place teams want to go for sports for once. Imagine our teams being able to practice more than eight weeks in a year.

This is about economic development, healthy children, competition and winning. It is about America-Baseball/Soccer/Football, hotdogs and apple pie.

Join me in Fund the Field (FTF). Local government must make this a community priority. Write letters to local officials or here. Encourage research. Encourage local business to research how this might impact them. FTF!!!

Sincerely,

Loren K. Stanton
lorenk[at]kpunet.net
Ketchikan, AK

About: " Loren is a certified FIFA and ASAA referee and is a certified soccer coach. Loren has studied economics all of his life but most intently while living in Hong Kong, the brightest light of capitalism, for three years."

Received September 26, 2007 - Published September 29, 2007

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