Pensacola downtown Technology Park to be used as soccer practice field
After sitting unused for more than a decade, Pensacola's Technology Campus will be getting some use as a soccer practice field.
The Pensacola City Council unanimously approved an agreement between the city and the Pensacola-Escambia Development Commission to allow the 9-acre property to be used as a soccer practice field until the PEDC finds a developer for the property.
The technology park has sat vacant since it was constructed in 2012 with a $2 million grant from the Economic Development Administration to be a "shovel ready" site meant to attract information technology businesses to Pensacola.
FloridaWest and the PEDC have since tried the market the property to a broader base of industries, but so far, no potential developers for the property have been announced.
Mayor Grover Robinson signed the agreement with the PEDC Chairman Lewis Bear on Sept. 27, and the vote Thursday was an affirmation of the agreement.
The agreement allows youth sports teams with agreements with the city's Parks and Recreation Department to use the property for practice fields.
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Pensacola Parks and Recreation Director Adrian Stills told the council that the property would be used for youth soccer teams.
Stills said the city would set up temporary safety net structures to keep any stray soccer balls from the busy East Chase Street that runs along the north side of the property.
Under the agreement, the city will also be responsible for the maintenance of the grassy areas of the entire technology park and must repair any damage that occurs at the park as a result. Practice must end at sunset, and no lights will be installed in the park, according to the agreement.
Councilwoman Jennifer Brahier asked Still about the cost of the maintenance of the park to use as practice fields, which were given to the council as $34,377 a year.
Stills said the space is needed because there is a lack of practice fields for youth soccer in the city.
"It's a good problem to have," Stills said. "We have 900 or so youth just wanting to participate in soccer, and we have no place for them to go."
Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.
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