Camp Verde to open portion of sports complex June 6

CAMP VERDE – A portion of the Camp Verde Sports Complex will open officially Monday, June 6.

According to the Parks & Recreation Department, the soccer fields will be open for practice, and there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Lighting is not yet in place, and the fields do not have scoreboards or goal posts.

The rest of the $12 million complex is still under construction, with heavy equipment in use. In a news release this past week, Recreation Supervisor Shawna Figy explained the safety measures.

“The challenge to open the park now has been that the baseball/softball fields are still under construction and not all the fencing and amenities are in place,” she said. “We installed large cement barriers, barricades and fencing to control vehicle traffic and keep pedestrians out of construction areas.”

Also starting Monday, pedestrians who are already enjoying the new Forest Service trail will be able to park inside the complex in order to access it, as will equestrians.

The complex gates will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. When the sports complex is complete and fully open, which is expected by the end of the year, it will be open weekends as well. Access to the complex is off State Route 260 south of White Bridge on Champion Trail.

The soccer/football area, when completed, will have eight fields.

“We want to get teams practicing on the fields now to work on our plans for when more teams are using the fields,” Parks & Recreation Manager Mike Marshall said. “In August, we will have a few hundred soccer and football players using these fields for practice and games, so we want to get our plans working well.”

The Town purchased Musco lighting this year, and it is expected to be installed later this summer. Also on track to open for practice this summer are the softball/baseball fields. Field fencing is mostly in place already. The dugouts and infields are being completed.

Softball/baseball fields and soccer/football fields are expected to be game-ready for team play in the fall.

According to the Town, the football goal posts and scoreboards “have been a victim of the supply chain crisis but should arrive in time for the fall season.”