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Residents and youth soccer groups urge Brevard to fix Acousta Field parking, add restrooms
Summary
Several residents and representatives of local youth soccer organizations told council the Acousta athletic complex needs paved parking and permanent restrooms after incidents and frequent overuse; the council heard specific safety incidents and was reminded the budget workshop is Friday.
Multiple speakers told Brevard City Council on June 1 that the Acousta athletic complex on Augusta Road needs urgent upgrades to parking and restroom facilities to protect children and families who use the fields.
"We host more than 400 participants on the soccer field alone" on a typical Saturday, Anna Herd of the Transennsylvania Youth Soccer Association said, and recounted that on April 21 a 7-year-old boy was struck by a vehicle in the gravel parking lot and had to be airlifted to a hospital. "This is not simply a soccer issue... It is a public safety issue," she said.
Other speakers who use the fields described routine problems: overflowing portable toilets that are unsanitary, dust blowing from the unpaved lot across playing surfaces, and traffic and pedestrian conflicts when baseball and soccer overlap. Davis Whitfield Cargle described "human feces" odors and called for paved parking and permanent restrooms. Shay Ari, a director at Acousta Football Club, urged covered shelter at fields so families can shelter from lightning and thunderstorms.
Council members and staff acknowledged the concerns and noted the FY26-27 budget vote was postponed until a public workshop Friday morning; several speakers asked the council to prioritize capital funding for parking and restrooms when it finalizes the budget. City Manager Wilson Cooper said staff will take commenters' concerns into account during budget deliberations and will follow up on permitting questions raised by other petitioners.
Next steps: the council scheduled a budget workshop for Friday at 8:30 a.m.; speakers asked the council to consider one-time funds or supplemental spending to address safety-related infrastructure at the athletic complex.
