Eureka Springs soccer organizers ask Parks Commission for storage shed, concession deck and memorial wall

Shreya Mike Smith, representing the Eureka Springs Soccer Club, asked the Parks and Recreation Commission on May 19 to consider two near-term improvements at Leatherwood ball fields: a storage shed to relieve crowded concession storage and a small deck in front of the concession stand to hold picnic tables.

“My name's Shreya Mike Smith, Eureka Springs Soccer Club…we just finished our spring season of 26 with 65 kids in six different teams,” Smith told the commission, before outlining space and storage constraints that prompted the request. She proposed a site visit or a working group to study placement of a shed to the left of the main field.

Tara Lewis, executive director of the Eureka Springs Youth Soccer Club, described a second proposal to create a memorial wall at the far end of the field closest to the river bridge. Lewis said the club would like “individual stones with names of those that we have lost along the way engraved into the stones” and said there are about 13 names she would like commemorated.

Both speakers said the two immediate projects would be privately funded. “The two projects I mentioned…the extension to the concession for picnic tables and a storage shed will be funded from the soccer club. We would raise funds,” Smith said, adding the club hopes to work with a high school skills group for construction and materials.

Commissioners responded positively and asked staff to schedule a workshop so the proposals can be reviewed in detail, including parking and field-layout implications from a larger expansion plan the clubs previously submitted in 2020. No formal vote or funding commitment from the Parks Department was made at the meeting.

The commission said it will follow up with the clubs about a site visit and a proposed workshop date. The clubs said they will provide design details and identify funding sources for the projects.