CHURCH HILL -- Hawkins County leaders gave the OK Thursday for a section of Laurel Run Park to be used for youth league soccer and football practice.
An official agreement between the county and three cities involved in a joint recreation league will have to be approved at a later date.
Chris Christian is a member of the new joint recreation league formed this year combining the Surgoinsville, Church Hill and Mount Carmel teams.
Christian told the Hawkins County Commission's Parks Committee Thursday that one side effect of the recreation program merger is greater participation in sports leagues.
This fall there will be two soccer leagues -- one for 7- to 9-year-olds and one for 10- to 13-year-olds -- as well as two youth football leagues.
"What we've run into since the three cities came together is our numbers are increasing, and we ran out of spaces," Christian said. "We're utilizing all of our parks, and the schools, and we're busting at the seams."
Christian asked the committee for permission to allow practice this fall in "the big field" on the opposite end of the park from the picnic shelters.
He said there's room for two or three regulation-size soccer fields in that far section of the park, which hasn't been used for anything except hay in the past.
Although the plan would be to utilize the fields for practice this fall, ultimately the rec league wants to create permanent fields and play games at Laurel Run Park.
Christian said he wasn't in a position Thursday to speak for his full board. But he said he believes the cities would agree to help with any physical changes to the park needed to make the ball field more accessible and safer -- such as fencing and parking lots.
"I haven't measured it yet, but we could put at least two regulation soccer fields and have room for peewee football practice," Christian said. "Another scenario for this is the possibility of the middle school using that field for practice and saving its football field for games. It's a win-win-win for everybody involved."
The Parks Committee voted 6-0 in favor of allowing the park's "big field" to be used for practice.
The committee will then work with the joint recreation board to come up with a permanent agreement.
The registration deadline for Surgoinsville/Church Hill/Mount Carmel youth soccer and football leagues is today at the end of business hours at the Recreation office in Church Hill City Hall.