IMMOKALEE, Fla. — For years, families in Immokalee have dreamed of better recreational spaces. Now, that dream is becoming reality as the "Fields of Dreams" initiative transforms the Immokalee Sports Complex.
Significant upgrades will be made to expand access to sports facilities in our Southwest Florida community where recreational options have been limited.
"It's been long long overdue," said Manny Touron, who founded the Soccer Pit Cobras Club in Immokalee in 2006.
The current fields at the complex can only be used for six months of the year because the grass needs time to rest and recover, limiting opportunities for local youth and families.
Collier Commissioner Bill McDaniel acknowledges the community's patience with the project's timeline.
Click here to see Immokalee Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with the Bill McDaniel and Manny Touron about the importance of this project.
"Been a long, arduous process. We've been working on it for in excess of four years," McDaniel said. "There was a technical glitch a couple of years ago that put us back another two years."
The wear and tear on the existing facilities is evident throughout the complex.
"You can see right here, with just some of this browning that's coming up, the use of these fields is just off the chart," McDaniel said.
The "Fields of Dreams" project will convert two grass fields to artificial turf, add restrooms, and build a vending facility. The improvements also include pool resurfacing, new pumps, and improved filtration systems.
In Immokalee, where few places exist for young people to gather and stay active, the sports complex serves as more than just a recreational facility.
Touron emphasizes that the complex provides a safe environment where children develop important life skills beyond athletics.
"It's not just about soccer our club, although it's a soccer club, our club has a that's the Soccer is the secondary importance of what we do. We want our kids to to be good kids, to be good citizens, to keep be good sons and daughters and and do some good in their lives," Touron said.
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