Shelby board looks to improve Tucker Park field, add soccer space
By David Jacobs
The Shelby park board is exploring options to add more soccer space while also addressing concerns about the uneven terrain at Tucker Park, which currently hosts youth soccer games.
Shelby parks Superintendent Jerry Marshall had been contacted about the matter.
"I said, 'well we don't have much of land other than Tucker,' and we knew that wasn't smooth," Marshall told the Shelby's Board of Park Commissioners. "I don't know how to fix it (Tucker) other than long-term coming in and having a farmer plow it, (level the surface) and reseed it."
Meanwhile, longtime Shelby park board member Dave Keinath offered to lead outreach efforts to Shelby's Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) about allowing the use of field space -- in the area of the former Skiles Field -- for youth soccer programs in the community.
"I thought, wow, we've got to leave that old football field like it is and put soccer fields in there because they're already drained," Keinath said of historic Skiles Field, which was in use from 1928-2022 and was later demolished. "The draining systems there. It would stay dry."
Shelby park board member Ralph Rosinsky said any use of the field would be short-term and temporary until the greenspace's future-use plan is put into place.
Park board secretary Brian Crum said: "It does seem a little silly that we're mowing this lot and keeping it nice for no use."
Keinath plans to get further information and report back to the park board, which holds its meetings in public.
"We're talking about letting kids play a game on grass," Keinath said.
As for the Tucker field, Keinath asked about rolling the field to make it smoother.
"I have always heard and other people agreed, that if you roll to fix frost damage from the prior winter, it will help," Marshall said. "But to roll it for the sake of leveling it up, it does not help."
Keinath brought up another concern about Tucker park's current field for soccer.
"I hope it doesn't have any divots or bad spots that the kids could twist an ankle on," he said.
"That was our concern using it too," Marshall responded.
Keinath said: "But I would never tell them no unless we can offer them a better spot someplace else."
Rabold Park was also mentioned as a spot for additional soccer space in Shelby.
"But we just don't have room out there,” Marshall said. “I can't have them do (soccer) on Saturday and Sunday if we've got a pavilion rented, and they’ve got 15 cars out there for soccer going on.”