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Asheville soccer takes a large step forward on November 1 at 5:30 pm, turning on new outdoor field lighting at John B. Lewis Soccer Complex in a �Lights On!� celebration. Outdoor field lighting means a 68 percent increase in available play time, attracts more out of town tournament teams that spend money in Asheville, and is the most cost effective solution to expanding field time capacity for Asheville/Buncombe County Youth Soccer Association�s (ABYSA) growing soccer community.The field lighting system is the culmination of two years of planning and partnering among ABYSA, Western North Carolina Soccer Foundation, The City of Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Product Development Fund. �The ABYSA Board of Directors agreed in 2007 that a field lighting system was the top priority for us to expand soccer participation and programming,� said Mike Rottjakob, ABYSA executive director. �Our programming time in fall, winter, and early spring was very limited by early darkness. The lights will allow us to much better meet the needs of youth players and the entire large and growing soccer community.� �We�ve been working and partnering for two years to get this done, and it�s a great accomplishment. I am especially grateful to Becky Lewis of the Western North Carolina Soccer Foundation, and to many folks at the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority and City of Asheville for supporting our efforts,� said Rottjakob. Turning on the lights means that the capacity for exercise and play for individuals increases from 126,000 user hours to more than 211,000 user hours. The lighting system also increases the number of out of town teams that can participate in the six ABYSA tournaments hosted each year. In fact, field lighting adds capacity for some 1,500 additional hotel room night sales per year, so that in three years the economic impact will be $643,000 per year. ABYSA and Western North Carolina Soccer Foundation conducted research and fundraising to acquire the maintenance-paid lighting system at a cost of about $590,000. The Buncombe County Tourist Development Product Fund contributed $500,000 of the total cost via a grant, based on documented economic impact to the community for increased playing time and larger tournament attendance. The new lights are environmentally friendly, with low energy consumption and light pollution and a 25-year warranty that includes re-lamping of light fixtures for the term of the warranty. Asheville-Buncombe Youth Soccer Association (ABYSA), a 501 (c) 3 organization, teaches soccer to children and adults in Buncombe County. They serve more than 4,400 participants through their Recreation, Classic, and Challenge programs, and also provide community outreach services. Visit www.abysa.org or call 828.299.7277 for more information. (Images provided by Asheville-Buncombe Youth Soccer Association.)
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