SOCA Announces Groundbreaking of New Field House
November 20, 2019
SOCA Announces Groundbreaking of New Field House
(Charlottesville, VA - Tuesday, November 19, 2019) - Soccer Organization of the Charlottesville Area
The Soccer Organization of the Charlottesville Area (SOCA) is hosting a groundbreaking for its new Field House on Wednesday, November 20 at 3:15pm in the Belvedere neighborhood north of Charlottesville. SOCA’s Field House will address the Charlottesville area’s low inventory of safe, all-weather playing spaces.
The facility will be the Charlottesville area non-profit’s permanent home, ultimately housing the club’s offices and supporting spaces in addition to a 60 x 40 yard playing surface of the latest generation synthetic turf.
“SOCA is addressing a local deficiency in safe, useable, all weather playing spaces,” says SOCA Executive Director Matt Wilson. “The Field House will allow for children and soccer players of all ages to play the game they love on a high quality pitch year round, on rainy days or when there is snow on the ground.”
The groundbreaking is the culmination of a decade long pursuit of a permanent home and all-weather playing field for the organization. In 2018, with the help of a generous donation from acac Fitness and Wellness Centers, SOCA completed a $200,000 Challenge Grant issued by the Perry Foundation for the remaining funds needed to start the project. In total, SOCA has raised over $1.5 million toward the facility.
“This project has been many years in the making. We are excited to make the facility a reality and appreciate the community’s support. Our lending partner United Bank has been a tremendous ally for us in bringing the Field House to fruition and we are excited to make our home in the Belvedere neighborhood. Steve Krohn and his team are building a fabulous community off of Rio Road. We look forward to being a neighbor and adding to the vibrancy of Belvedere,” says Don Long, SOCA’s President.
SOCA was founded in Charlottesville in 1982 and expanded to Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta in 2014. The organization registers over 7300 unique players each year from four years old to over forty years old and has programming year round for players of all abilities. One in five (20%) of all children ages five to eighteen participate with SOCA each year in Charlottesville and Albemarle. In 2019 SOCA made over 700 financial assistance awards totaling $125,000 of free soccer scholarships.
“Facilities are the biggest challenge facing community sports providers in the Charlottesville community. SOCA is no exception,” says Wilson. “We are excited by the design provided by Steve von Storch and Stoneking von Storch Architects for the facility. Having a building that can house play space in addition to administrative functions will be of exceptional benefit to SOCA. We look forward to working with local building contactors Martin Horn for the building’s construction.”
The SOCA Field House is scheduled to open in September 2020. More information can be found at https://www.socaspot.org/belvedere-project/. SOCA is a 501c3 not for profit organization and donations can be tax deductible. The ground breaking will take place near the Village Green on Belvedere Boulevard.
(Charlottesville, VA - Tuesday, November 19, 2019) - Soccer Organization of the Charlottesville Area
The Soccer Organization of the Charlottesville Area (SOCA) is hosting a groundbreaking for its new Field House on Wednesday, November 20 at 3:15pm in the Belvedere neighborhood north of Charlottesville. SOCA’s Field House will address the Charlottesville area’s low inventory of safe, all-weather playing spaces.
The facility will be the Charlottesville area non-profit’s permanent home, ultimately housing the club’s offices and supporting spaces in addition to a 60 x 40 yard playing surface of the latest generation synthetic turf.
“SOCA is addressing a local deficiency in safe, useable, all weather playing spaces,” says SOCA Executive Director Matt Wilson. “The Field House will allow for children and soccer players of all ages to play the game they love on a high quality pitch year round, on rainy days or when there is snow on the ground.”
The groundbreaking is the culmination of a decade long pursuit of a permanent home and all-weather playing field for the organization. In 2018, with the help of a generous donation from acac Fitness and Wellness Centers, SOCA completed a $200,000 Challenge Grant issued by the Perry Foundation for the remaining funds needed to start the project. In total, SOCA has raised over $1.5 million toward the facility.
“This project has been many years in the making. We are excited to make the facility a reality and appreciate the community’s support. Our lending partner United Bank has been a tremendous ally for us in bringing the Field House to fruition and we are excited to make our home in the Belvedere neighborhood. Steve Krohn and his team are building a fabulous community off of Rio Road. We look forward to being a neighbor and adding to the vibrancy of Belvedere,” says Don Long, SOCA’s President.
SOCA was founded in Charlottesville in 1982 and expanded to Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta in 2014. The organization registers over 7300 unique players each year from four years old to over forty years old and has programming year round for players of all abilities. One in five (20%) of all children ages five to eighteen participate with SOCA each year in Charlottesville and Albemarle. In 2019 SOCA made over 700 financial assistance awards totaling $125,000 of free soccer scholarships.
“Facilities are the biggest challenge facing community sports providers in the Charlottesville community. SOCA is no exception,” says Wilson. “We are excited by the design provided by Steve von Storch and Stoneking von Storch Architects for the facility. Having a building that can house play space in addition to administrative functions will be of exceptional benefit to SOCA. We look forward to working with local building contactors Martin Horn for the building’s construction.”
The SOCA Field House is scheduled to open in September 2020. More information can be found at https://www.socaspot.org/belvedere-project/. SOCA is a 501c3 not for profit organization and donations can be tax deductible. The ground breaking will take place near the Village Green on Belvedere Boulevard.
Contact:
Matt Wilson, Executive Director
matt.wilson@socaspot.org, (434) 975-5025
