We were excited to expand our game day field space this season by playing games at 1849 Park, in addition to our primary fields at Wells Point Park. Our pod at 1849 Park was our home for all Pflugerville FC Select & Academy trainings, as well as home games for our PFC Select and Div III Recreational teams on Saturdays. This has been a big step for us as a club to provide more quality field space for training and games, and to help alleviate some of the parking limitations at Wells Point Park. But we’re not done yet!
Above is a previous rendering of the original Master plan for 1849 Park. This isn’t finalized yet, and our input could help shape what this park becomes.
The City of Pflugerville approved a bond proposal back in 2020 to begin building Phase 2 of 1849 Park and they are looking for input from the community about what we’d like to see. (You can also view the 1849 Park Master plan here) Please take 5 minutes to fill out this City of Pflugerville survey and help us advocate for the needs of youth soccer here in Pflugerville. Also below are listed out some of the main points we’ve been advocating for already as a club.
PAYSL and Pflugerville FC priorities
Combination of Natural Grass and Synthetic Turf fields
We would like to see additional grass and synthetic turf fields added at 1849 to increase capacity. Synthetic fields allow for year-round play and won’t always be closed after a rainstorm, which is a great advantage. Grass fields can be relined to accommodate different field sizes week-to-week, giving us some much needed flexibility as we host different events at 1849. Grass fields also are cooler for players in the Texas heat than synthetic turf fields and often are better at reducing player injuries. As a club, we’d prefer a mixture of both surfaces to give us maximum flexibility.
Access to water
For some reason, the soccer fields at 1849 Park have no drinking fountains or bottle fillers. This is a major concern for us as players, referees, coaches and spectators may run out of bottled water on hot days and not be able to easily get water. We’ve resorted to providing water coolers and bottled water for our referees on game days as they’re often working multiple games back-to-back and need access to water. Please advocate for more access to drinking water and bottle fillers as they improve 1849 Park.
Shaded areas
This is also a concern to us to provide shaded areas much closed to the playing pods. The fields are very big and it can be a very long walk to get to the single pavilion for shade. Please join us in asking for more shaded areas that could benefit to players, referees, spectators, and coaches.
Concession areas
One of the benefits we have as the primary tenant at Wells Point Park is the ability to run a concession stand. This adds to the game day experience as players and spectators can stop in for a drink or food while out at the park. It’s also a way for our club to raise funds, and it becomes a hub for information and distribution to our members. Currently, the soccer fields at 1849 have no space for concessions, and we only use one of the three pods at the park. They have a lane out front for food trucks, but there’s also a City ordinance forbidding food trucks from selling in Pflugerville Parks. This ordinance means we currently must request a waiver for a single date every time we invite a food truck to come to 1849 Park. And if it were open to any food truck company, then there’s zero opportunity for club fundraising. Please join in requesting concession areas be built at 1849 Park that clubs can use.
Storage
At Wells Point Park we have a clubhouse and multiple storage sheds to keep equipment. However at 1849 Park, we have none of that. Our field crews and coaches much transport equipment in and out of the fields each week to comply with the rules of the Parks & Recreation Department. As we look to continue to develop our training programs, we need a convenient onsite location for storage so we can keep equipment that we can readily use. Please be sure to write-in this need for consideration at the end of the survey.
Thank you for advocating on behalf of PAYSL and Pflugerville FC. We hope that together we can continue to improve the soccer facilities available for us in Pflugerville!
One Team. One Goal.
