Williamson County Commissioners approached the City of Hutto to create an agreement to develop a 25 acre plot of land for athletic fields. The local soccer association was seeking a way to expand their programs for children ten years of age and older and approached the county about a piece of land. The county felt that it would be best to create a partnership with the City to develop the land for all of Hutto specifically for soccer fields, but if necessary to expand the use to additional athletic or recreational activities. The current 25 acre agreement is located north of Hutto, just past the Jonah water tower and south of FM 1431/University Boulevard.

The City of Hutto Parks & Recreation Department was in the process of updating the City’s overall Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Master Plan and was able to identify that the City did not have and currently still does not have any public soccer fields.  The local association served nearly 200 children at the time but those children practiced and played games on land that is slated for commercial development. On top of that, no children over the age of 10 have been able to play games within Hutto. Those games are played at locations in Pflugerville, Round Rock, Georgetown and at Williamson County parks. For more information about the meetings held during the Master Planning Process, please visit the webpage and read Sections 4, 5, and 6. Parks Master Plan

The City Council adopted the Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Master Plan in January 2007 which includes several goals, actions and activities. Of these goals, the reinvestment and improvement of current facilities as well as planning for facilities to accommodate the current and future population of Hutto were among the adopted plan. This plan was set based on citizen and community input  over nearly a seven month process. The Master Plan is reviewed each year and the priorities updated and approved by City Council.

See the City of Hutto Overall Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Master Plan for the Goals, Actions and Activities and view the 2008 Tracking Matrix Update.   Fritz Park Tracking Matrix 

The Fritz Park Master Plan addresses the following Master Plan Goals, Actions and Activities:

            Goals 1,2,3,4,5 

            Actions 3,4,12

            Activities A,B,C,D,E, F,J,K,L, AA,BB,CC,GG, HH

If this project were to be built, what would happen to the fields currently in use? These fields would be able to be used for practices as well as rental fields for teams looking to organize practice sessions that may not be part of local leagues. The new facility may serve as a both a practice and a game facility, but also as a facility for both the City and local leagues to bring in out of town teams for tournaments and special events.

The work that has been completed to date only includes an initial overhead view of what the soccer portion of the complex could hold. The land could hold up to six full international sized soccer fields, parking lot, concession restroom facility, a playground, pond area for water reuse/irrigation, and some shade structures. The initial concept does not show the potential to co-locate a baseball/softball complex adjacent to the soccer use. The City’s Master Plan indicates a highest and best use of locating these facilities in an area that is easily accessible to the public but also places similar high traffic recreational/athletic uses together. It is the City’s preference to place these uses together to potentially save construction costs when co-locating facilities.

So what is this facility going to look like? Configuration of the facility will not be determined until the City is able to put funds towards the complete development of the facility. Additionally, an update to the plan taking into consideration City and local league needs will need to be determined. For this to happen, additional funds will be needed.

The City Council approved a resolution calling for citizens to approve a bond referendum to complete this plan. Proposition 3 for November 3 includes approximately $6 million to complete this proposed plan as well as add additional baseball/softball fields. This resolution allows the citizens to determine if a set of facilities is one to move forward in the near future. Please see the City’s website for more information regarding the bond referendum: www.huttotx.gov/bondelection