The Swain Youth Soccer Association (SYSA) has kicked off a fundraising campaign to raise money to fix the Swain County Recreation Park Soccer Field. Swain County received a grant from the NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PartF) that will provide up to $30,000 of matching money to fix the soccer field. For every dollar raised by Swain County and SYSA, the grant will match the money up to $30,000. Update - As of April 21, 2013, SYSA has raised over $15,500 towards this goal. We hope to raise $18,000 by the end of April to start phase one of our renovation plan in time to use the field this fall.
The current field was built in 2003 and is uneven, does not drain, and has never grown grass suitable for a playing surface. Swain County has tried several times over the years to fix the field, but major work on the site is needed before turf can grow there.
Funds raised in the campaign will fund the field renovation plan. The first phase of the field is to crown the field for proper drainage, install an irrigation system, and bring in sod for the field. After the first phase is complete, SYSA will then look at higher fencing and netting, a field marking system, a storage building, and bleachers.
The field will serve the competitive SYSA teams, overflow from the recreational soccer league (which currently turns away children because of the size of the private field they play on), the high school club teams, and recreational adult players. An additional goal is that the field be made suitable for hosting teams from other counties, which would benefit Swain County economically by bringing in additional income to local businesses from those visiting players and their families.
SYSA’s fundraising campaign will start with a Buy a Brick campaign. With this campaign people can buy a brick with your name, an inscription, a dedication, or memorial. The brick will be placed at the Rec Park soccer field. For more information on the Buy a Brick campaign, please contact Jack Gray at sysanc@gmail.com, 488-3862, or fill out our online order form.
SYSA will also seek corporate sponsorship for the renovation. Businesses donating at the Gold ($5,000 and up), Silver ($3,000), and Bronze ($1,000) will receive special bricks to designate their level of sponsorship. Corporate sponsors will be recognized in SYSA publicity and on our web site. Please contact Scott Cline at scline@clinesoftware.com for more information.
Site designed by WNC Interactive.
