Youth soccer in Paris is not going away; it’s just moving down the street.
After approximately 36 years of Lamar County youth playing organized soccer on land owned by Paris Junior College (PJC), the Paris Soccer Association (PSA) is working with the City of Paris to find a new home for its growing program.
PJC and PSA had a longstanding agreement that the youth soccer program could use the land located just south of the college campus until PJC needed the land for another purpose.
That need now exists as the College is planning to construct a softball facility similar to Hub Hollis Baseball Field at the Barney Bray Sports Complex at this location.
The planned facility will ensure that PJC’s men’s and women’s sports programs have comparable facilities for years to come.
Given PJC’s need for the land and with the youth soccer fall season starting in September, PSA and City of Paris officials began looking for places to move the program.
After visiting several sites, the parties have determined that the best solution is to move the program to the available space at the Sports Complex and position the fields in the area behind the Civic Center.
PJC donated the property comprising the Sports Complex to the City in 2002 for the specific purpose of providing public sports facilities. This move allows the fall league to continue as planned, but more importantly, provides an opportunity for the league to continue to function and grow in place.
If this program is to be truly successful, a location specifically designed for soccer is needed. A permanent home for the youth soccer program is what PSA and the City are working together to create and both organizations feel the Sports Complex has the potential to be such a place.
A second, less favored option, involved moving the soccer program to Dragon Park. While this property has several soccer fields that are already “pinned”, the expected lease between PJC and the City for this property is only for a period of one year. If the program moved to this property, there is a possibility it could be moving again in a year’s time.
PSA understands and respects the decision made by Paris Junior College regarding the use of their land.
The Association is thankful to PJC for letting us use this space for as long as they did.
PSA will have representatives at the “Back to School Bash” at the Love Civic Center on Saturday, August 5, 2023, between 10:00 a.m. and 2 p.m., and will register youth for Fall League play as planned.
