Improvements are continuing at Whiteley Park on Poplar Bluff’s south side, something Parks and Recreation Department Director Lanny Corcimiglia said is necessary because of the growth of youth soccer in the area.
Whiteley Park is unofficially the city’s soccer park, with several game and practice fields, but space still has been limited.
Recently, the Parks and Recreation Department purchased an additional 8.14 acres of land to expand the park.
“With that purchase, we basically doubled the size of our game fields,” said Corcimiglia, who noted soccer has “always been a big presence” in Poplar Bluff.
“It’s consistently had hundreds of kids involved each year, and it’s definitely not going away,” he added.
The recent purchase includes one and a half acres on the west side of Cheshire Boulevard, across from the practice fields constructed a couple years ago.
“It’s going to either be another smaller soccer field or more parking,” Corcimiglia said.
That decision will be based on what happens at the former water park property nearby, which has been used for parking.
The remainder of the new land purchase extends the park from its former southern boundary parallel to the wood lot southward to Highway 142. The wooded block of timber is not included.
“The plan right now is to make three, possibly four new soccer fields,” Corcimiglia said of the addition.
“Over the next couple years, we’ll work on getting it graded out and getting irrigation in and getting lighting installed,” he added.
The area already has electric service, he noted.
The additions, Corcimiglia said, will allow more practices to take place on practice-specific fields, so game fields are not damaged.
They also will allow more games to be played at the same time so the schedule isn’t so spread out in the evenings.
Visitors to the park also will immediately notice a new mural on the exterior of the newly-painted concession stand as well.
The large mural depicts a soccer ball striking a goal net and features logos for the Parks and Recreation Department, Optimist Soccer League and the Poplar Bluff Soccer Classic.
The mural is the work of Cody Crittenden, Corcimiglia said.
“We reached out to him to do it,” he said. “A few folks talked about having a mural so that when we have our soccer tournaments and at the end of our Optimist Soccer League seasons, you could stand in front of something and take your picture,” Corcimiglia said.
The entire art project, he noted, took Crittenden two to three weeks to complete.
“It turned out great,” Corcimiglia said, noting “we’re going to try to do the other side as well.”
Funding for the mural, he said, was split evenly between the park department and the Optimist Soccer League.