A group of children run soccer practice drills at the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, as plans are in the works to install turf in the fields. (Grace Ramey McDowell/grace.ramey@bgdailynews.com)

Changes are coming to the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex in the form of two new artificial turf soccer fields, something Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Director Brent Belcher said will be “a huge asset.”

“Demand is very high in our community for soccer,” Belcher said. “In our diverse community soccer is one of the key components and gets a lot of participation.”

Most of the fields at the Soccer Complex currently consist of Bermuda grass, which Belcher said goes dormant in November and is not usable again until springtime. By having turf fields installed, the playing season can last year round.

He said the city spends several months doing repair work before fall soccer seasons begin in August.

“We think there’ll be a lot of users who use them at a lot of different times and (the fields will) allow for more users during over a 12-month period,” Belcher said.

Two million dollars toward the project was appropriated in the City of Bowling Green’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which was passed unanimously on a first-reading by the Bowling Green City Commission on June 4. The $2 million price tag on the project will include all costs associated with the project.

A turf field is already in use at Lampkin Park, Belcher said, which was installed around four years ago. He said the plan is to have six turf soccer fields installed throughout Bowling Green in the next three years.

“We have this huge soccer demand coming in so a lot of different users want to use our facilities,” Belcher said. “So it just got to the point where this was the best answer to serve the public.”

Belcher said the installation of turf fields is a “timing issue.”

“We will be looking to do the installation of these turf fields somewhere between May and August of 2025,” Belcher said. “That’s kind of in between soccer seasons as a whole.”

Belcher said a turf field, if maintained properly, can be expected to last for about 10 years.

Steve Henson, executive director of the SKY Soccer Club, said around 3,000 players are enrolled in SKY Soccer’s programs, and said the turf fields will be a boon for the club.

“We couldn’t be happier that they’re doing this,” Henson said. “It’s going to be huge for our kiddos.”

BGPR has yet to decide which of the 16 fields at the complex will be turfed. Henson said along with providing year-round opportunities for practice, the fields will cut back on the number of rain delays or weather-related cancellations.

“They’re built with such great drainage that it can just pour and they’re dry in no time at all,” he said. “It won’t take care of all the rain outs, but it’ll help with some of the rain outs.”