WAILUA — The park may have been dedicated, but citizens still have an opportunity to become part of the soccer field complex. Volunteers have played a key role in the development of not only the soccer field, but the many
WAILUA — The park may have been dedicated, but citizens still have an opportunity to become part of the soccer field complex.
Volunteers have played a key role in the development of not only the soccer field, but the many components of Lydgate Park, said Kaua‘i County Councilman Tim Bynum.
Bynum was just a citizen when he began writing grants that gave birth to the Kamalani Park, the Kamalani Park Bridge, and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Soccer Park that was dedicated Friday morning.
Bynum was speaking on volunteerism and how Kaua‘i’s citizens come to the forefront in getting things accomplished for this island.
The wrath of Hurricane Iniki and the damage to Kaua‘i’s many parks was the seed that gave life to the complex of user-based park features at Lydgate Park, Bynum said.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg sports park is part of the multi-phase Lydgate Park master plan that includes picnic and day-use areas, campgrounds that are being worked on, a segment of Ke Ala Hele Makalae, the 16-mile multi-use coastal path, and the Kamalani Playground, Bridge and Pavilion, states a county release.
“We are very pleased to celebrate the opening of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Sports Park,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. who tried his hand at bettering the penalty shot offered up by Gailene Wong of the Weinberg Foundation. “Having another facility where sporting events can be held is truly a welcomed addition to our county parks system, and I want to thank all the different groups in the community who collaborated on the Lydgate Park master plan, especially the Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park who were pivotal in formalizing the plan and moving it forward.”
Wong was representing the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation that presented a grant for $875,000 towards the construction of the park. Carvalho said other groups that were instrumental in the development of the park complex included the Kaua‘i County Council, the Division of Forestry and Wildlife for stepping forward with the tree planting grant written by Thomas Noyes, and the Kaha Lani Association of Apartment Owners/Castle Resorts and Hotels, represented at the dedication by many of its Board members and officers, and the EZ to Use Island Pages for its monetary contributions, some of which was derived from the telephone book recycling campaign.
The sports park, as it presented itself during the dedication, features three full-sized soccer fields, each one that can be broken down into at least two smaller-sized fields for younger players, and a meandering concrete pathway that divides the playing field.
Almost any sport can be played on the fields during daylight hours, the county release states. No night activities can be held at the sports park because there are no lights installed in the area.
Lenny Rapozo, the county’s Parks and Recreation director, said the field features an underground irrigation system that will limit people being able to stake anything on it. None of the other county parks have the underground irrigation system that was developed in conjunction with the Wailua Golf Course to enable the sports park to be able to use the excess water from the golf course irrigation system.
William Trugillo, the American Youth Soccer Association, Region 940 comissioner, and Bob French, lost little time looking over the fields for playability.
“There’s nothing scheduled for the fields, yet,” Trugillo said. “But I’m sure we can work something out.”
Kylan Dela Cruz, the Deputy Director for the Parks and Recreation Dept. said when the AYSO regions were scheduling their season play, the park was still under development as the county worked on establishing a maintenance schedule for the park complex.
Rapozo, emcee for the dedication ceremony, closed the dedication by allowing the mayor, Wong, and Kaua‘i County Council Chair Bill “Kaipo” Asing a turn at taking a penalty shot on one of the pristine fields, an act that broke the ice for the audience of dignitaries and set the tone for the informal lunch that followed.
Noyes said volunteers are welcome to become part of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Sports Park by coming out to the tree planting from 7:30 a.m. to noon on Oct. 17 — National Make A Difference Day.
For more information, call Noyes at 639-1018, or visit the Friends of Kamalani Web site at www.kamalani.org.
