Shaler's young soccer players have a new park to call home.
Teams from the Shaler Soccer Club began practicing in August at the new McElheny Park along McElheny Road. The 9.44-acre parcel of land was donated in 1995 to the township by an anonymous benefactor.
The land was given to the township for recreation space, said Debbie Vita, Shaler assistant manager.
"This is huge, it's wonderful," said Becki Meehan, president of the Shaler Soccer Club, which more than 600 players age 4 and up.
"It gives you the ability to allow more kids to play, and coaches can spread out on the fields," she said.
Meehan said the addition of the field to a roster of playing areas will alleviate crowding and wear on other fields, such as the township's Fall Run Park and Glenshaw Valley field -- which is owned by the Glenshaw Valley Presbyterian Church but used by youth baseball and soccer leagues.
The opening of McElheny Park coincides with the potential loss of another playing area in Shaler, Feid Field. That field, which is on privately owned property, might be developed into a shopping plaza under a plan submitted by a developer.
Although adult softball teams mainly use Feid Field now, its loss would put field space at a higher premium in the township, Meehan said.
McElheny Park was too wet to use during the season's first weekend earlier this month, but teams have been practicing there since then and have been using it for games during the weekend.
Shaler resident Dan Reno said he remembered when the land where McElheny Park now sits was a private swim club. He now comes to the field to watch his 7-year-old son, Max, play.
"It's great because Shaler's getting to be an older community, and you don't have the land to just throw in parks and fields," he said.
The township contributed $50,000 for landscaping, water line, sprinkler systems, fencing, and paving, Vita said.
A $10,000 grant from the state helped the soccer club pay $13,500 in landscaping needed to get the field in shape.
