WSA PARTNERS WITH SALVATION ARMY FOR NEW 10-ACRE TRAINING FACILITY LOCATED OFF 41st STREET IN SAND SPRINGS.  READ MORE & TAKE VIDEO TOUR CLICK HERE...

 WSA SOCCER & SALVATION ARMY INK DEAL FOR 10-ACRE TRAINING FACILITY 

   West Side Alliance Soccer Club and the Sand Springs Salvation Army have inked a deal for a 10-acre sports facility, previously used for baseball and football, for a new training facility for the WSA Soccer Club.

   The facility is located off 41st Street and 129th West Avenue in South Sand Springs.  "The location is actually very convenient," reports WSA Director of Coaching, Roger Bush.  "The proximity to I-44, to Highway 97, and still only a few miles from Rivercity Parks, is ideal for several reasons."   The negotiations with the Salvation Army began last Spring and persisted through this summer when the deal seemed to become more of a reality.

Picture of the new WSA Salvation Army Training Facility which was opened on December 5th, 2011. See video tour below.

    WSA leadership council, Chris Foster, Treasurer, and Curt McGinis, Vice President of Operations, wound up inking the deal sometime in late November, after spending September and October in negotiations on terms of a contract that the WSA Board unanimously agreed was beneficial for the club program.  

    Recent growth in numbers, encumbering a membership population that exceeds 800 players at present, and increasing frequency of usage of Rivercity Parks, the club’s current match facilities, motivated the board officials to begin seeking a replacement to the STAR Training facility which had been in use since Spring 2008.  The STAR Facility was purchased last Winter by a private corporation for industrial development.  

Picture of Rivercity Parks surfaces during the recent 2010 WSA Cup.  One of many events adding stress to the facility. 

    "The newly leased training space at the Salvation Army will be a critical part of the recovery of our fields at Rivercity form the damage that resulted from the devastatingly hot and dry summer of 2011 and overusage forced on us from the sudden loss of the STAR Training Facility," reports WSA Field Committee member, Chris Foster.  

    The new facility at the Salvation Army will include 3 training "quads".  Each will be the approximate size of a "full sized" soccer field.  The facility contains 4 quads total, but WSA has agreed with the Salvation Army to only employ the use of 3 of the 4 quads for the first term of the lease.  The training quads measure in size from 110 yards X 80 yards, to 130 yards by 90 yards.  The facility also contains centralized restrooms, concession area, and video towers.  

    Goals, lights, trash barrels, bleachers, and other equipment have been added to the facility since December 1st, when the lease was officially begun.  Further rennovations to field surfaces, painting in lines, and other work will continue over the winter months.  

     The facility will replace Rivercity almost in full for training and practices for the WSA Competitive, WSA Academy and SSSC Rec and Youth Development programs.  "The objective is to keep traffic off Rivercity, upgrading the standards of those surfaces to rival the best in the country, and at the same time upgrading the standards of the surfaces and trainng grounds at Salvation Army," reports Bush.  "It is a monumental task."  

     The Amigos work crew will be busy, but they have already acted quickly in movement of goals, mowing the grounds, moving bleachers and trash barrels, to ready the facility for use.  

     Parking will take place behind (east side of) Angus Acres church which is located just north of the Salvation Army.  There is ample parking that is "field side" for another convenient trait of the facility.  WSA is grateful for the cooperation from Angus Ancres church.  

     The Salvation Army training facility does have some rules which WSA has asked all members to adhere to strictly:

                 NO SMOKING ANYWHERE ON THE FACILITY INCLUDING PARKING LOTS
                 STRICT TIME LIMITS:
                       MON-FRI 5 pm - 10 pm 
                       SAT Dawn - 10 pm
                       SUN 2 pm - 10 pm
                  TRASH PICK-UP - PLACE ALL TRASH IN BARRELS OR TAKE WITH YOU - DO NOT LEAVE ON GROUNDS

         WSA is certainly excited about the terms of this partnership with Salvation Army and the possibilities it creates for the club program in terms of managing space, affording top training conditions, and preserving match facilties.  The facility is currently "open for operation" during the winter holiday offseason.  Schedules will be created for Spring training sometime after the first of the year.

        View a video tour of the Salvation Army Training grounds below:

 WSA’s SALVATION ARMY TRAINING GROUNDS