Club Update – Burbank Closure
Dear members,
This summer from June 23-29 the Baton Rouge Soccer Club (BRSC), BREC, and Visit Baton Rouge will be hosting the Southern Regionals Championships soccer tournament. The economic impact on the greater Baton Rouge area from the tournament is projected to exceed 20MM.
In 2019, the tournament consisted of 220 teams and required twenty (20) full-sized fields to operate the event. Due to several factors such as weather, overuse, lack of rest/rotation, and unauthorized play, several of the 20 full-sized fields were not playable and games had to be shifted to other park locations. This summer, there will be approximately 250 teams requiring twenty-four (24) full-sized fields.
At the beginning of the spring season, we had planned and hoped to close Burbank Park on April 23rd. Recently, we met with field turf professionals and were advised to close Burbank Park on April 10th. Many of the goal mouths and other areas need to be sodded and rested to ensure they will be at the required standard for the Regionals event. The BRSC staff is working diligently to adjust training and game schedules for the remainder of the spring season.
We have the opportunity to utilize all of the other BREC parks in East Baton Rouge. We will send out a list of available BREC parks our members are able to use. For games, we are looking to move competitive, adult, and recreational games to Independence Park. The women’s league game times may be adjusted slightly. For training, the competitive program will move to Independence Park and the training time will be shortened slightly. The recreational program will utilize one of the many BREC parks for its practices.
Post-Southern Regionals we will all be able to enjoy the benefits of the field closure. In part, due to Southern Regionals, we will have three new full-sized lighted fields added to Burbank Park (fields 24, 25, 26). These fields will have irrigation, improved drainage, and upgraded LED lighting. BRSC and BREC are working on improving the other parks we operate. For example, at Independence Park, we are looking to add turf fields, bathrooms, and improve lighting. At Flanacher Rd. Park, we are adding new goals, a remote lighting system, and improving the field surface. At Lovett Rd. Park, BREC has added soccer field space, improved lighting, and new goals.
We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience. Thank you for being the best part of BRSC and thank you for your understanding in this matter.
Best,
Louie Smothermon
Executive Director
Baton Rouge Soccer Club