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The new Buncombe County Sports Park, located in Enka, Asheville's neighbor to the west, was dedicated recently with all of the fanfare and celebration that is part of the grand opening for a facility of this type. With its seven soccer fields, sand volleyball courts, playground, one-mile walking trail, concession stand, picnic shelter, and restrooms, this sports complex has something to please just about anyone who is a sports or health enthusiast. It is one very, very impressive sports complex. But, even after taking into consideration all that the county has done to complete a task of this magnitude, the fifty-acre park is not merely a county project. The community effort that has gone into making the sports complex what it is today has been enormous. One of the biggest benefactors of the existence of the sports complex is also one of its greatest sources of volunteers, the Asheville/Buncombe Youth Soccer Association (ABYSA). The ABYSA oversees the county's extremely popular youth soccer recreational league. In the wake of the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association's championship tournament, held at the Sports Park in early May, repairs had to be made to the fields after the weekend-long rainfall that accompanied most of the games. Following the distribution of kindly donated and much needed sand, a large number of rocks were scattered over the playing fields. The ABYSA mobilized and supplied a small army of volunteers who scoured the fields and removed the rocks, returning the playing fields to their original excellent condition. The ABYSA also provides many volunteers for the facility's concession stand.
Even the Boy Scouts have contributed to the effort by planting and agreeing to the long-term maintenance of island medians in the parking lot. The park has already met with great success from various groups who have used the park for special events. A Soap Box Derby event was held in April as well as a bicycling event. An antique car show was so successful that they are already planning a return date. Numerous teams that participated in the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association championships had nothing but praise for the fields and the facility in general. The future of the Sports Park is bright. According to Deanna Stone, who is with the Buncombe County Recreational Services Department, the county has hopes to expand the facilities at the park with the addition of a multi-purpose court. The court will have basketball goals on either end for use as a basketball court, but it will also be able to convert to use for inline skating and, perhaps, skateboarding. Funding for the multi-purpose court has not been secured as yet, but the county might look to area businesses, which stand to benefit greatly as a result of their close proximity to the park, as a potential source.
To see the new Sports Park in person, take I-40W to the Enka-Candler exit (Exit 44); turn right. After the first traffic light, turn right on Acton Circle. At the four-way stop, turn left on Sand Hill School Road. To enter the park, turn between Sand Hill-Venable School and Buncombe Community West School. For more information about the Buncombe County Sports Park or to inquire about using the facility as the site for a special event, please call Buncombe County Recreational Services at 828-298-6118.
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Quality Forward, Asheville's non-profit organization dedicated to the beautification of the area, as well as the creation and preservation of green space in Buncombe County, has enthusiastically taken on planting projects at the new park, contributing materials and many hours of volunteer labor.
The soccer fields will be allowed to rest during the soccer off-season, from about November through March. The fields are planted with the tough, short-bladed Bermuda grass, which doesn't grow in the winter, but the months will allow the time that is necessary for proper maintenance of the fields.