The Santa Clara Youth Soccer League filed a lawsuit against the city and the National Football League, claiming that construction on three fields being used for the Super Bowl has stopped kids from playing soccer there.
The construction will displace an estimated 1,600 youth soccer players until about 30 days after the Super Bowl. ABC7 News reports the fields are planned for a media village, security and half-time event staging for the game that will take place in Levi’s Stadium across the street.
The youth soccer league needs a place to practice, they say, and doesn’t want any damage done to the fields. The city offered other arrangements for players to use, but those only allow practices twice a week Monday through Friday and none on weekends, the league said.
The league has teams for soccer-loving boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 18.
The NFL is using pallets of Terraplast turf cover to protect the fields from equipment weight. The NFL told ABC7 News there will be no digging involved in the construction, but video and photos taken on Monday show otherwise.
A judge denied the youth soccer league’s initial request to halt construction, but a preliminary injunction hearing is set for Wednesday.
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