The City of Newark engaged Verde Design to program and facilitate an extensive public process that focused on the northern natural grass fields and an unused area north of their existing Silliman Community Center parking lot. The City was looking at replacing their grass fields with higher play sports fields, and to develop plans for building a skate park to the west of the new fields. The public process generated a lot of interest and valuable feedback that was integrated into the final concepts and design of both the fields and skate park. With the need to provide more durable facilities within Silliman Community Center, it was the consensus that synthetic turf was the best surface for the fields. The sports field is setup for two full-size soccer fields and four U12 fields. The layout of the fields includes warm-up areas, storage boxes for the different user age groups, fencing, and practice backstops. The fields are supported by additional pedestrian and maintenance vehicle paths, picnic areas, C.3 storm water biofiltration, landscaping areas, and sports lighting. The skate facility is designed with shaded picnic tables and observation areas with safety rails to enable the skaters to go all out while those without boards can remain safe while right next to the action.
