City could block field access

Elise Gee

COSTA MESA -- If the city gains jurisdiction over fields at Estancia High

School, members of an adult soccer league could lose one of the last

places in the city where they are still allowed to play, and other

residents could lose the only field they have within walking distance.

Interamericana Soccer was banned from city fields after a stabbing last

October. Because Estancia High School fields fall under the supervision

of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, some Interamericana soccer

players have been using the fields for practice.

Residents who live nearby also play pickup games at Estancia High School,

which for them offers the only fields within walking distance.

An agreement between the city and the school district will be presented

to the council next month that would require teams and leagues to go to

the city to obtain permits. Also, city park rangers would be given the

authority to patrol the fields.

Edgar Vasquez, president of Interamericana Soccer, said he fears the

consequences of such an agreement.

‘We have a lot of people in Costa Mesa who go to practice at Estancia

High School,’ Vasquez said. ‘We feel like those fields are for our

community.’

Vasquez added there are more than 4,000 Costa Mesa residents who belong

to Interamericana Soccer.

The city does not have a roster of resident Interamericana Soccer players

and cannot confirm their membership numbers, said Richard Brunette, city

recreation supervisor.

However, they are not the only group with a vested interest in the

fields’ use.

Youth soccer leagues have grown dramatically in the last five years as

well, said Stacia Mancini, city recreation services manager.

Overuse of the fields is one of the factors driving the city to try to

forge an agreement with the district to monitor the use of the fields.

There aren’t enough fields to accommodate youth leagues, which get

priority, but The Farm Sports Complex is expected to help that situation

when it opens completely next spring.

Steve Crenshaw helped start Extreme Soccer, which is the only group that

has a permit to play on Estancia High School fields. Crenshaw said

overuse at Estancia is a major issue.

‘If you go out there at 5:30 in the afternoon, if the sun’s still up, it

looks like a cast of thousands,” Crenshaw said. An agreement with the

school district would provide more fields that the city could allow

groups to play on and it would also help to manage overuse issues at

Estancia.

Efrain Reyonso comes after work to play a few pickup games with friends.

He said people are using the fields the way they were meant to be used.

‘I think it’s fine the way it is,’ he said.

But Reyonso’s teammate Ramon Gonzalez said he would be open to more city

regulation if it meant that adult teams would continue to be allowed to

play at Estancia.

‘If they requested us to pay a fee, we’d agree with that,’ Gonzalez said.

Although youth now get priority when it comes to soccer fields, staff

hopes to find a balance that would not exclude adults, Mancini said.

As for Interamericana Soccer, they will continue to work to get their

permits reinstated, Vasquez said.

Vasquez also said that he hopes the city doesn’t forget how important

soccer is to adults and to the Latino community.

‘Kids are a priority,’ Vasquez said. ‘Unfortunately, they are forgetting

about the adults ... Our people just love to play soccer. Traditionally,

it’s one of our favorite sports.’