Construction projected by June on Royal City Lions Park soccer field

ROYAL CITY — The development of Royal City’s expanded Lions Park will begin with a new soccer field, scheduled to be ready for play in spring 2026. 

City officials applied for and received a Recreation and Conservation Office grant to develop the soccer field. Public Works Director Curt Carpenter said city officials were notified in mid-March that the project could proceed. 

City officials purchased property adjacent to the existing park in 2018 with the intention of expansion. The existing park borders Camelia Street Northwest, and the expansion will extend it to Acacia Street West. Royal City Mayor Michael Christensen said in an earlier interview that one-third of the undeveloped section was designated for a soccer field. 

“It’ll be on the east end of the unimproved land,” Carpenter said. “The corner of Cedar and Acacia.”  

City officials designed the field and got the permits in 2024.  

The Royal School District has some publicly accessible soccer fields, Carpenter said, but the Lions Park pitch will be the only public one in town not owned by RSD. 

Some community residents have volunteered to help clean the property, he said, and that will be one of the first tasks.  

“We’re working on the irrigation (system),” he said. 

The system itself is under design by city officials and consultants. Some equipment has arrived and city crews will be installing what can be installed, which includes the irrigation pump.  

The project is expected to go out for bid sometime in April. Carpenter said the contract should be awarded in May, with construction starting in June. 

The soccer field will be hydroseeded, Carpenter said, so it won’t be ready for use until spring 2026. Christensen said the pitch will be the area of focus for park expansion in 2025. 

“(The soccer field) is the area we’re going to make sure we get done,” Christensen said.