The City Council‘s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee Tuesday unanimously approved a proposed lease of the San Diego Polo Fields to the organizers of the Surf Cup soccer tournaments held at the site, despite hints of litigation by nearby homeowners.
Surf Cup Sports LLC, which has been operating the tournaments and running club teams for 24 years on the fields east of Interstate 5 near Via de la Valle, was the only compliant respondent when the city sought a lessee to replace the Fairbanks Polo Club, according to city staff.
Former Councilman Jim Madaffer, who represents Surf Cup Sports, told the committee members that the organization attracts the best youth soccer players in the region. About 200 players and family members crowded the Council Chamber and adjoining rooms for the hearing.
“The people you see in this room today that wear Surf uniform shirts are, in fact, the best of the best,” Madaffer said.
Many of the youngsters who spoke said playing at the facility resulted in offers of college scholarships.
The problem is that the organization’s activities have grown so popular that large crowds of people come to the field on about half the weekends of the year, causing traffic tie-ups and noise, said lawyer Maria Severson, who represents owners of 55 bluffside homes above the property.
“Any noise that goes on on the fields goes straight up to the homes,” Severson said.
She told City News Service that her clients will protect their rights, though she declined to say whether they would sue if the full City Council approves the lease at a future meeting.
According to city staff, the 600-acre site was deeded to the city in 1983 and has been used for both polo and soccer. Severson said the deed came with conditions that permitted quiet and non-commercial activities like jogging and equestrian events, but not things that would attract large crowds.
Subsequent agreements have allowed soccer to be played on the land, and no complaints about the facility were heard until recently, according to staff.
Madaffer said Surf Cup officials are already working on traffic control measures, and are willing to meet with nearby residents to work out the dispute. He also said polo events will continue at the site.
The Surf Cup is planning to make numerous improvements to the soccer fields, parking areas and polo facilities, and to build a new equestrian center, he said.
The tournaments held at the site are considered among the most prestigious in the U.S., and attract teams from around the nation and some foreign countries. Retired county prosecutor Jeff Dusek, who said he volunteers for the organization, told the committee members that a tournament last summer attracted around 800 teams and 500 college coaches.
–City News Service
