Northern Virginia Soccer Club
How do you get a company like Sprinturf to install a soccer field on land you don’t own, but lease? Bill Gregory, President of Northern Virginia Soccer Club and his staff found a way.
Gregory and the NVSC lobbied the Prince William County Parks Authority by presenting a business plan that would give the soccer club a 10-year lease and allow it to solicit and obtain the financing needed to purchase the field at George Helwig Memorial Park in Manassas.
“Sprinturf stood by us,” says Gregory. “The process of getting the financing was about a six to eight month process in itself. Sprinturf was always keeping in touch, making certain we had all of the information we needed. When we needed additional information concerning warranty details, they were right there. Sprinturf was a very instrumental partner throughout the whole process.”
The NVSC is a youth league affiliate of the Northern Virginia Football Club (NVFC), which participates in the United Soccer League’s (USL) Premier Development League (PDL). The men’s side is the Royals and the women’s side is the Majestics (W-League). Sprinturf is the official turf partner of USL.
“We looked at Sprinturf first, since they are a sponsor of USL,” Gregory says. “We compared it against two or three other brands as well, and came away with the fact that the Sprinturf product was the best to install. They also gave us any background we would need to help us, such as having a 10-year lease with an 8-year warranty for the field.”
Gregory and the NVSC were turned down by several lenders but were buoyed by having a sizable down payment due to the revenue the club earned by running various soccer tournaments each year. In the end, that helped finance the entire project.
The field was installed Labor Day weekend. The NVSC has since been able to conduct games and practices, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony taking place in late September.
Hurricane Hannah provided the field with its first test, dumping seven inches of rain. But the following day, when the NVSC’s grass fields were all closed, it began play at 9 a.m. on the Sprinturf field and continued the entire day unabated.
“It was fabulous,” Gregory says. “I woke up that morning and the field was completely drained. The kids are all excited. The field plays well; it has a good bounce to it. It’s nice and smooth. They did a nice job of installing it. It shows the commitment of the club to provide the best facilities that we can to the players, so they can promote their skills and improve their games.”
To learn more about our growing company, our high performance products and our commitment to customer care, call Sprinturf today at 1.877.686.TURF or visit us online at www.sprinturf.com.
