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North Bend board explores nonprofit plan to build covered soccer facility and upgrade Oak Street fields
Summary
At a Feb. 19 work session the North Bend School District 13 board heard a proposal from Alan Leiddesma of Euerto Sports and a new nonprofit called Bay Growth to upgrade Oak Street athletic fields and add a covered soccer/practice facility for daytime district use and after-school community use; the board agreed to explore the idea further but took no formal vote.
North Bend School District 13 board members on Feb. 19 heard a proposal from Alan Leiddesma, owner of Euerto Sports, to partner with a new nonprofit called Bay Growth to upgrade fields at the district's Oak Street property and build a covered soccer/practice facility that the district could use during school hours and the nonprofit could operate after school.
Leiddesma told the board he has worked in the community for 33 years and described a shortage of indoor facilities that forced him to close program registration early this winter. “This is the first time in 33 years that I had to close registration earlier,” he said, arguing the covered facility would expand practice time and preserve opportunities for younger players who now lack indoor space.
The proposal envisions improving one of Oak Street’s soft fields—adding lights, turf-style surfacing, bleachers and a scoreboard—and constructing a covered structure sized for practice use (Leiddesma said it would be roughly 60% of a full-size soccer field). He described a lease-based funding model that, he said, would impose “zero expenses for the school district”: the nonprofit would pay to upgrade and operate the facility under a long-term/shared-use agreement so the district retains access during school hours.
Board members pressed on site logistics, regulation and program use. One member noted the corner under discussion is about 55,000 square feet while current usable area is nearer 40,000 square feet; Leiddesma acknowledged the site is not a regulation full-size soccer pitch but said it would meet practice needs for younger age groups. Board members and staff asked how often both fields are used simultaneously, where parents would park for practices or small events, and how an eventual school build at Oak Street would affect the upgrade.
Leiddesma suggested designing the facility so it could be incorporated into a future school build rather than requiring permanent demolition. He described an “evergreen” lease concept similar to past arrangements with local partners, in which the nonprofit upgrades and maintains the facility and the district regains the asset if a school is later constructed on the parcel.
District staff and board members said an initial small committee should gather more details—cost estimates, parking solutions, irrigation and turf options, lease language, and building-code implications—before bringing a formal proposal back to the board. Brandon, a district staff member, said installing a higher-quality varsity-style field at Oak Street could be done affordably and would expand opportunities for district teams and youth programs.
No formal motion was made or vote taken on the Oak Street proposal during the work session. Earlier in the meeting the board approved the meeting agenda by voice vote. The board moved next to a review of its CTE program and ended the public live stream of the session.
What happens next: board members said they would form a small exploratory group to collect quotes and legal/operational information and return to the full board for any official decision on partnering or lease terms.
