Summer Improvements

Disc Golf Improvements

Disc Golf is a fast-growing sport, with development of new courses taking place across the country. The addition of the soccer fields required relocation of some of the disc golf holes at Kincaid Park. The result is a new, full course in a more topographically interesting and scenic area of the park. Disc golf is also included in the Kincaid Park Master Plan, which will permanently ensure its presence at Kincaid Park.

Soccer Field Construction

Seven natural grass soccer fields have been completed, with one artificial turf field scheduled for completion in Fall 2011. These fields were constructed to meet the needs of Anchorage's largest participant sport and to address shortfalls community-wide. Fields were used for tournament play in 2010 and when they are fully operational, Kincaid will be one of the premier places in the state to play soccer.

Soccer is the fastest growing sport in Anchorage—nearly 1/3 of all sports participants in the Municipality play soccer.  While most other organized sports have seen a decline in participants, soccer grown tremendously.

A recent study by the Anchorage Alliance of Soccer Associations found that the Anchorage community is at least 17 fields short of the number required meeting existing demand. While the growth in the demand for field space has grown significantly, there have been few field additions.

This tremendous demand for fields has placed stress on the existing fields. Almost all fields experience severe wear with little opportunity for rest during the summer months. As a result, the Municipality of Anchorage has resorted to allowing fields to lay dormant for entire seasons in order to allow re-establishment of turf. As a result, between 20 to 25 percent of Anchorage’s fields are closed to play during any given season.

A lot of soccer takes place at Anchorage Football Stadium which offers the only regulation artificial turf field in Anchorage. This places tremendous demand for early season play requiring kids to play late into the night in order to fit in all games.

In addition to the shortage of fields, the distribution of fields has not addressed the changing character of organized sports. Many communities have addressed this changing nature of soccer by constructing complexes that provide a single venue for competition. Doing so eliminates a parent’s having to drive to multiple fields for tournaments or to meet the demands presented by having multiple children. For example, the Ina K tournament uses 14 fields at eight different venues, 20 miles apart. Fairbanks has addressed this need for a complex by providing a facility with 15 fields. Many communities in the Lower 48 provide anywhere from 20 to dozens of fields.

Far North Bicentennial Park was envisioned as a location that could address such a need. However, this has not happened. There are no other locations in the Anchorage Bowl that meet the space demands for a complex of fields.