The University of Texas Permian Basin has hosted community sports leagues on its campus for decades and looks forward to expanding it significantly this fall. The university’s soccer and softball fields will be available to any team, league, association, and community partner interested in providing sports in our city and on campus. Everyone is invited to play, and UTPB looks forward to providing families with enhanced, enjoyable experiences.
Why a modification? For the past 25-years, UTPB partnered with the City of Odessa to allow youth sports to play on the fields. That long-term agreement with the City expires on August 31, 2021. In preparation for the expiration data, the university provided a proposal that would have kept the partnership in place in the years ahead; unfortunately, the City rejected the plan. While disappointing, UTPB respects the decision by the City and values other longstanding partnerships and support.
Our goal now and into the future is to continue to provide access to the fields for our community and to explore ways to keep it as affordable as possible. Because the city will no longer be providing any financial support to maintain the fields, the University is looking at other sources of funding, including raising private dollars, to minimize rates.
Moreover, UTPB is actually planning to expand access and improve organization and scheduling, maximizing full use of the fields by scheduling team practices, competitions, enhanced training opportunities, tournaments, and even "open play” where friends and families can gather and enjoy the facilities, not all of which were available in the past.
Additional information about the expansion of field use opportunities will be available in the coming weeks, with plans to launch on September 1.
