News: Loudoun Soccer Rallies Supporters to Save Bolen Park

(Mar. 15, 2010) - Loudoun Soccer is rallying its supporters to try and save the Bolen Park project and its much needed playing fields.

A letter from Loudoun Soccer:

We are reaching out to you today to request your help on a very important issue that will affect us all. As many of you know, back in 2000 we voted to accept a bond referendum to build 104 acre Phillip Bolen Park, to be located near Leesburg Airport. This park will help to serve the entire county by easing some of the field shortages that we have been experiencing. This park will have 6 lighted, irrigated soccer fields. These will be the first lighted soccer fields to be built in the county. To learn more about the park, visit: http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=125.

This long awaited and much anticipated opening of the park is scheduled for this fall. Much of the park is already built and the work continues. However, at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting regarding the County Budget FY11, several Supervisors expressed their desire to remove the $1M budgeted for the operations of Bolen Park, in spite of the fact that millions of dollars have already been spent on the project to date. If this appropriation were to be removed from the County Budget FY11, it would delay the opening of the Park for at least a year or perhaps, indefinitely. Support for making the cut appears to be growing among members of the Board of Supervisors, which makes your input and voice so important! It is imperative that Loudoun Soccer parents and athletes are present at the upcoming public input session of the Board of Supervisors for which, details are listed below.

Board of Supervisors' Public Input & General Business Meeting-Board Room
Date: Monday - March 15, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: 1 Harrison Street, S.E.,
Leesburg, VA 20177-7000
Public Input starts at 7:00 pm

The Loudoun Soccer family must come together in support of Phillip Bolen Park, to ensure that it opens on time in 2010. Our Supervisors need to hear us loud and clear. To show your support, please attend and wear red. If you wish to make a brief statement, even just to say "I am here to urge you to fully fund Bolen Park, as planned, so that it will open and operate in 2010”, please sign up to speak at the beginning of the meeting. In addition, we request that our members e-mail the Board with the same message at BOS@loudoun.gov.

Thank you so much for your support. This is a battle that we must wage and which we cannot afford to lose! Please help us ensure that the Board of Supervisors hears us. Our collective voices will help ensure that they do RIGHT thing!