What you need to know
Cibolo City Council greenlit the return of sports activities Sept. 10 . Sports activities can now be held for four days out of the week, with an increase of up to six days at the discretion of city staff. If a sports team books a date that was cancelled due to weather, the team can move to another date of the week if available.
Council also approved a motion to allow the local Relentless Soccer Club to use the field for Monday and Wednesday practices, as well as one weekend per month with opportunity for additional weekends if available. Another local youth sports group, South Texas Firebirds football, will also be allowed use of the field for one weekend per month.
How we got here
On Aug. 26, City Secretary Peggy Cimics and Parks and Recreation Director David Howard came to council with a proposal to reopen the field for four days each week. The field has been closed since March 1 due to conditions deteriorating, attributed to near-daily use, Cimics said.
In March, council discussed installing new sod at the field, which would have cost upward of $200,000. Howard said letting the field rest alleviated issues, and that a reduced schedule would make sure the MEC "stays a premiere field."
Howard said an irrigation controller has also been installed for the field, which means the irrigation system can be turned on remotely.
Preparing for the reopening, Howard said he suggests a mandatory rotation for teams using the field so that one particular area is not being overused.
Offering input
While the city has no exclusive agreement with Relentless for the MEC, it was noted as a continual partnership by city staff. Mayor Mark Allen said Relentless Soccer Club will still have "ample access" to Cibolo's sports fields but does not want one group to have more than 50% of field time.
"I just don’t think it’s fair to all the other sports clubs throughout Cibolo if one team were to monopolize it," Allen said.
Council member Norma Sanchez-Stephens agreed with not having one group monopolize usage of the field.
"Having had kids in soccer, they rotate, they have home games, they have away games, and these kids I've seen [run] with divots in the ground and not altogether perfect landscape," Sanchez-Stephens said during an Aug. 26 council meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Katie Cunningham said she wants to see the city work potentially making open city flat land into a soccer field. The move, she said, would accommodate the growing Cibolo youth sports scene.
“Relentless [Soccer Club] has doubled in their size very quickly. I’m sure [South Texas] Firebirds is on the same trajectory. We’ve seen a lot of very successful teams in the area. We have to find more space," Cunningham said.
Relentless Soccer Club Director Reece Kelly said the club is at 170 players with approximately 54 families local to Cibolo. He also said the club's tournaments bring in 400-500 tourists that spend money at local businesses, and wants to continue using the MEC to train and play.
“We’re looking at trying to grow, but grow in the right manner. We can’t grow while we’re going from pillar to post. ... We just want a place to call home," Kelly said.
