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Big Rapids board pauses amid tense dispute over city soccer field access
Summary
Two youth soccer groups — long-established Northland United and the newly formed Central Michigan Football Club — clashed at a Parks & Recreation meeting over access, club roles in maintenance, and allegations of player poaching; the board referred the matter to its programming committee for further study.
The Big Rapids Parks & Recreation Board heard competing appeals over who should be allowed to schedule and prioritize use of the city’s soccer fields, but did not take immediate action, instead referring the issue to the programming/recreation subcommittee for more study.
“My name is Sam Gry. I’m the media director for the Central Michigan Football Club,” Sam Gry told the board, saying the volunteer-run club has grown to about 135 players aged roughly 8U to 19U and asking that his group be allowed to share city fields so more local children can play. “One of the biggest barriers to access is cost…we keep all the fees to…
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