A group of Dayton residents concerned over the development of a soccer complex at the former Dayton Ridge Golf Course sought transparency and clarifications on the development during Ottawa’s City Council meeting Tuesday.
The 55-acre former golf course was undergoing a transformation into an even flatter land to become a brand new soccer ‘complex’ for use by the Ottawa Soccer Club, the youth soccer organization that fields between 500 and 800 youth players every year.
President David Vanwiggeren said the club has overgrown its current fields at Peck Park and at the empty lot east of Kroger on McKinley Road, and the kids need a larger space that gives the grass some time to rest. Currently, the grass is overworn and struggling to regrow with how much use it gets. This leads to a muddy pitch.
Jacqueline Hughes, who lives near the former golf course, asked the city to step back and evaluate which projects it prioritizes since it has so much currently going on.
“What concerns us is the process and the lack of a clear picture of what is being planned,” Hughes said. “When the city discussed acquiring Dayton Ridge, the property was described as additional park space, the future home of the Ottawa Soccer Club, open to the public, and eventually a potential multi-sports complex.”
Mayor Robert Hasty said at the end of the meeting that there were once discussions of using this location as a multi-sport commercial complex, though it became clear quickly that the golf course wasn’t going to be large enough.
Instead, Hasty said residents should think of this as more of an extra city park: The plan right now, given grant funding comes through, is to have playgrounds and a walking trail to go along with the soccer fields.
He said it’s a misconception that has come up because soccer facilities are often called complexes. Instead, this would be similar to Peck Park but larger, with more space.
“When you start looking at the kind of developments that the traveling sports complexes have, it’s just not big enough,” Hasty said. “The land is shaped a little bit weird for that.”
He said it was an early possibility that didn’t shape out.
“This is an open space, just like any other park, any other league that uses ball fields,” said Commissioner Marla Pearson.
Pearson also said there isn’t a concern about games taking place there at night. There will not be lights over the fields.
That doesn’t solve every problem those with concerns have, though: Locals are concerned that traffic will be a problem. As it stands, the road heading into the golf course is low traffic and often used for children playing and senior citizens going on walks.
James Less, who said his parents live in the area, wants specifics.
“This is a significant number of vehicles, so before this facility is operating, there are some basic questions that need to be answered,” Less said. “How many parking spaces will actually be available on the site? How many vehicles is the facility expected to accomodate?”
He said according to construction plans, traffic is entering off a frontage road.
“What happens when several fields are being used simultaneously?” Less said. “Where will the overflow parking go?”
These are questions the city of Ottawa plan on answering. Hasty said the city will schedule a town hall to go over the plan, and explain what the complex will look like soon.
The Ottawa City Council approved the purchase of the golf course at 3076 E. 18th Road in December 2025 for the price of $705,000. It’s just west of the PetSmart Distribution Center and north of Interstate 80, bumping against the Moose Lodge. It is also surrounded by rural subdivisions with homes interspersed in between the former golf course.
The council approved a bid with Stott Contracting for $608,626.46 during its August meeting.