November 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 24

Partnerships For Parks
Small-Sided Soccer -
A Leap of Faith
By Jack Kardys

ong before David Beckham showed interest in building a soccer
stadium in Florida's sunny Miami-Dade County, another United
Kingdom import, Scottish-born Alan Georgeson and his son Scott
Georgeson, owners of Soccer 5 USA, were already investing in
small-sided soccer fields in Miami-Dade County-owned parks.
Miami-Dade County and
Small-Sided Soccer
Miami-Dade County has 1.6 million
residents of Hispanic origin - more
than half the county's population.
Traditionally, Hispanic people love to
play and watch soccer. Miami-Dade
County Parks, Recreation and Open
Spaces (PROS) recognized the need
to build more soccer fields at regional
and community parks to keep up with
demand. However, PROS was planning and building regulation-sized
soccer fields, and running out of land

quickly. So, why invest in small-sided
soccer versus traditional soccer fields?
Small-sided soccer is played with
fewer players than traditional soccer.
Small teams can play a game with
just a few friends on smaller playing
fields. Small-sided soccer is ranked
the fastest growing sport in the United Kingdom and is preferred for
teaching children the basics of soccer.
With small-sided soccer, players have
more contact with the ball and develop skills faster. Smaller fields are also
easier for children to manage.

Small-sided soccer fields are easier for
children to navigate and offer an ideal
situation to teach basic game skills.
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PROS found a partner in the
Georgesons, who are both familiar
with how to manage smaller fields
and teach the game.
In 2010, Soccer 5 USA approached
PROS about building small-sided soccer fields at Kendall Soccer Park, a
popular regional park in Miami-Dade.
At the time, there were no small-sided soccer facilities anywhere in
Miami-Dade. Soccer 5 proposed to
build four state-of-the-art facilities in
an undeveloped section of the popular
park. Soccer 5 came equipped with the
design and the capital to construct the
facilities in record time, but first they
had to navigate their way through the
complex public procurement system
with Miami-Dade County.
Soccer 5 applied for a permit to
conduct business with Miami-Dade
County, which is a one-year contract
with a one-year optional extension.
Taking this risk was a great leap of
faith for a company interested in investing capital to build on land with
a short contract life. Miami-Dade
Parks also assumed risks, including
what to do with the development
once it was built and no guarantee of
the game gaining a following the way
it has overseas.
During this time, while Soccer 5
was operating under its permit and
growing in popularity, PROS put out
a recreational program contract to
provide soccer programs and facilities in its parks. Through this contract, the vendor pays a minimum
guaranteed payment and a percent-

November 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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