Regarding Spokane County’s possible $40 million park levy: I believe we should go through with it. As a city, we need to take pride in our sports programs and support them. Being on a sports team teaches kids many things, helps them grow as a person and makes long-lasting friendships. This levy would help improve the experience because the facilities would improve.

I am an active soccer player on the Spokane Foxes. We use Plantes Ferry quite often, and I have to say some of the fields are not satisfactory. Spokane is in desperate need of more turf fields. With 100-plus teams just in Spokane, two turf fields at Dwight Merkel aren’t going to cut it. Playing on a Premier team means traveling to Seattle, where there is only turf. Turf and grass are extremely different, requiring different skills and strategies. Not being able to practice on turf affects most teams.

Because of the hundreds of teams here, there are hundreds of practices that need to be scheduled daily. At Plantes Ferry, there aren’t lights on any of the fields, which means there can’t be late practices. It’s a constant struggle to find fields with turf and lighting.

Kaylyn Thompson

Spokane