Blackhills Community Soccer Complex

The idea for the Blackhills Community Soccer Complex project began in 1999 with discussions by a small group of people involved with the Blackhills Football Club concerning the lack of quality soccer fields for practices and games, especially in November and December. The original concept was for a four field complex primarily for teams in the Blackhills Football Club with the complex owned and operated by the Club. As the concept evolved, the decision was made to expand the vision for the project so that it benefited the larger community of youth soccer players in Tumwater/Olympia/Lacey and the surrounding areas. The vision became an 8 to 10 field soccer-only complex that would have fields available to all youth soccer teams in the community.

Fund-raising efforts and a search for suitable land began in earnest in 2001. That year the first annual Soccer Ball was sponsored by the Blackhills Football Club to raise money specifically for a field complex. In 2002, 40 acres of land that had convenient access from Interstate 5 and was zoned light industrial was found off 93rd Avenue SW in Tumwater. A downpayment on that land was made in June 2002.  At that time, efforts began to form a separate non-profit organization to oversee the development and management of the complex. The Blackhills Community Soccer Complex received recognition by the State of Washington as a non-profit corporation in September 2002 and was awarded 501(c)3 status by the IRS in March 2003.

The property was closed on February 12, 2003: we now had land for fields! The 2002, 2003, and 2004 Soccer Balls helped raise money to make the annual land payments for the Complex and provided money for some initial development work and planning.

The challenges ahead are considerable. We need to raise $100,000 in 2005 in order to build a paved access road to the property, construct phase I of the parking lot, and develop 2-3 fields for use. This effort will require both cash donations and in-kind contributions of labor and materials. This is not only a challenge to us, but to the entire local community. We hope the community recognizes the importance of quality recreational facilities for the community’s youth and the potential economic benefits that a complex such as ours would provide to the local economy. We hope we have your support in 2005!