Nick Archer's involvement in East Lansing soccer dates back more than 30 years to his days on the MSU national championship teams.
As the head coach for both the boys and girls varsity soccer teams at East Lansing High School, Archer said the East Lansing Soccer Complex, 3001 Abbott Road, is an important part of continuing the soccer tradition of the area.
"This is the East Lansing soccer hub now," Archer said. "As this area develops, it's going to be a central area for soccer."
The complex, which neighbors the Village at Chandler Crossings apartment complex, opened its fields for play in 1998 and now features seven regulation-sized fields and a sheltered area. It draws nearly 40,000 visitors annually.
Archer's varsity teams practice and compete on the fields along with the MSU club soccer teams.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 16 recently celebrated the shelter's inauguration, which provides spectators with concessions stands and rest rooms.
Gretchen Couraud, co-chair for the fund-raising campaign, was part of the effort to bring a shelter to the complex. She said as a "soccer mom," she just was looking to make the complex more spectator-friendly.
Couraud said that in the late '90s, East Lansing had community sessions that sought to provide more recreational and sports facilities for area youth. Additional soccer fields were one of the priorities.
Fund-raising then began a three-phase process. The first sought to purchase the land through a community bond, the second was to construct fields and bleachers and the third included a shelter for players and spectators.
Tim McCaffrey, director of East Lansing parks and recreational facilities, said the complex brings together soccer players from all over the area.
"Any soccer organization that exists in the greater Lansing area has use of it," he said.
He also said the complex's relatively close location to Lansing's Hope Soccer Complex might attract larger-scale national tournaments to the area.
"The public reaction has been very positive," McCaffrey said.
To reach their final fund-raising goal of $375,000, Couraud and other fund-raising volunteers still are seeking an additional $30,000. They hope to use the funds for future soccer sculptures in the complex.
