South Fayette soccer teams have new home in Preservation Park
South Fayette Township’s soccer teams have a home.
After the township’s two leases for soccer fields ended within the last two years, the 500-plus kids in the soccer association will now play their games at Preservation Park. The township held a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 21 to announce the opening of the township’s sixth park.
The soccer association used to play at El Rancho on Hickory Grade Road and Koppers Field on Presto-Sygan Road, but those leases recently became unavailable. The Watson Institute moved into the El Rancho site, and TopGolf is currently under construction on the Koppers Field location.
“It’ll be a nice amenity for the sports groups and for the community as a whole,” said Andrea Iglar, the township’s director of communications and community development. “It’s definitely something that will be good for the whole township.”
Preservation Park, which had its groundbreaking in Sept. 2016, has three multipurpose fields, a half-mile walking path and 100-plus parking spaces. The park is located at 175 Triple Tree Lane near Oakdale.
Paula Simmons, the township’s parks and recreation director, said the fields will not just be used by the soccer association, but also the football, lacrosse and cheerleading associations.
Simmons also said the park has space for possible future development.
“I could see a playground, a pavillion or (it) could be rented for use,” Simmons said. “But there are no plans in place for that space.”
The name Preservation Park, Iglar said, stems from the park overlooking a farm preserve, which is under the Allegheny County Agricultural Land Preservation and will permanently be preserved as farmland.