By Shawn Wheeler
Updated 7/21/2014
I invite all Emerald City Supporters and ECS FC players residing in Seattle to join ECS FC Management by voting yes on the Parks District Propositon 1. Keep an eye out for your ballots and remember to have them mailed by August 5th. The creation of a Metropolitan Parks District will not only increase overall parks funding in Seattle but it will improve funding stability from the current system of requesting temporary levies, thus crucially aiding long-term planning for large capital projects such as turf field conversion. It is our strong belief that enacting this measure will be the most benefit to the continued growth of soccer in Seattle.
Together I hope our voices can be heard and that we can be a force for positive change in our city!
Anthony De Simone
ECS FC Director
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The ECS believes strongly that soccer should be accessible in our community on all levels. Local residents interested in attending professional matches (Sounders FC, Reign, Sounders Women and others), traveling for away matches, or playing in adult and youth leagues should have access to do so. The growth of the sport in our local area and our country is dependent upon improving the accessibility for people of all socioeconomic groups and all interest levels.
The Seattle City Council and Mayor’s office are currently developing the Metropolitan Parks District funding strategy for the future, as the current Parks and Green Spaces Levy ends this year. This is a terrific opportunity to expand the number and improve the quality of soccer fields in our area. The city council will be holding a public hearing on this issue on Monday, April 7th at 6:30pm at City Hall (600 4th Ave #4), and we invite all ECS members to come out to this hearing to show our support for increasing the funding contributed to city parks and improve the accessibility to the beautiful game for all Seattle area residents. Please also contact the city council via the information at the bottom of this page to show your support.
Below is a message from ECS FC Director Anthony De Simone on this subject:
Field availability is an issue of special importance to both myself and ECS FC that is easy to take for granted. Without a doubt, ECS FC would not be as successful or vibrant as we are today without the strong investment in quality turf fields that the city of Seattle has made in recent years.
I remember not even ten years ago when many of our fields here had dirt surfaces not ideal for play during inclement weather. With the conversion of more and more of these to quality artificial surfaces, people became increasingly willing to play on them year-round.
Quality turf fields are especially important in our city because they are used by people of all socioeconomic classes, races, ages and genders. Simply put, the fields are for everyone and for this reason are a particularly valuable civic asset. Fields are used by various sports as well. While we approach the issue from the perspective of soccer, the turf fields are also used by football, baseball, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee, rugby and other sports.
Allocating money to improving fields and encouraging participation in sports, particularly adult sports, is a fantastic investment with long term health benefits. Citizens that regularly play team sports are healthier, happier and live longer. Spending this money now will surely reduce costs associated with illness and poor health for thousands in the future.
I am absolutely proud that the city of Seattle has made a strong investment in recent years, but we should do our best to see this continue. That is why I invite all ECS FC players to join me on April 7th at 6:30 at City Hall (600 4th Ave #4) for the public hearing on this issue in front of the Seattle City Council. By wearing our ECS FC jerseys to the event, we can send a strong visual message of support for this issue. Please make a strong effort to join us to convince the City Council to continue this long term investment in this year’s budget.
Anthony De Simone
ECS FC Director
For more information on this issue, check out these resources:
Friends of Athletic Fields
Seattle Youth Soccer Association
Contact Information for City Council and Mayor’s Office:
Web site for more councilmember contact information and phone numbers: http://www.cityofseattle.net/council
Council President: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Parks Committee Chair: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Parks Committee Member: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Parks Committee Vice Chair: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Parks Committee Alternate: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Council Member: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Council Member: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Council Member: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Council Member: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mayor Ed Murray: http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/contact-the-mayor
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