LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV) — Progress is being made at putting in 12 new youth soccer fields in Sarpy County despite numerous past attempts at building a youth sports complex around 120th and Giles Streets, which have not worked out.
Efforts to put in a youth sports complex on the site, just east of the Giles Road I-80 exit, have been ongoing since 2016 when they broke ground.
The complex never was completed. But this week, the La Vista City Council approved zoning changes for a new complex.
In a statement, Mike Casseling — who leads the Nebraska Multisport Complex Board of Directors — says the project will benefit the community and the entire state.
“We are currently working through the necessary planning steps to make the vision a reality,” said Casseling.
The project includes 12 multipurpose turf fields, more than 1,000 parking spots and room for around 5,000 people a day.
Casseling said the goal is to attract local, regional and national events with the idea that bringing out of town folks who “will drive increased sales and occupation tax revenue for the La Vista area, positively impacting nearby retail shopping and hotels and enhancing tourism development.”
Jovan Sudar is director of boys coaching with Omaha United and says they could use more fields.
“Well it’s really difficult just because Omaha does have five-to-six large clubs and everybody is fighting for a spot,” said Sudar.
He's pleased a new complex could be coming to the area, as he says they travel out of state about four times a year and, while that’s beneficial, it’s nice to play close to home.
“We would be able to attract a lot of teams to come here where we don’t have to travel and compete here locally and have teams from out of the state,” said Sudar.
Past efforts to do this, including putting in a pool, fell short. This plan just includes fields, but space for a field house is included in the plans if developers seek that out down the road.
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