Portsmouth soccer club left in the dark

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - There's no question that soccer is growing in Portsmouth.

"This is the youth of Portsmouth right here," said Coach Daryl Fischer.

The Portsmouth Soccer Club is one of three in the city where kids can play. The club is made up of more than 40 teams, yet club officials are tell WAVY.com the city is committing a foul.

"You can see how crowded it is," Fischer said, referring to the soccer field Thursday night at John Tyler Elementary. "The space is a lot smaller."

More than 300 players cram together for practice on a field behind the school, which is supposed to only be used for games.

"I try to keep it as organized as possible," Fischer said.

The problem occurs every night when the sun goes down. The club's practice fields are at Hodges Manor, where there are plenty of light fixtures, but no lights.

"Generally you'll turn the key and the lights kick on," Fischer said, "but the lights haven't turned on since October."

"We've submitted a work order in around the third week of October to the city," Fischer said. "The response was 'We'll fix them at a later date,' and that later date has arrived and still no lights."

Upset over the lack of help, parents called WAVY.com.

Thursday, Dominion Virginia Power was at the field. Crews were able to fix their own pole, but it's now up to the city to fix its poles.

WAVY.com called Clifton Jones from Portsmouth Parks and Recreation. Jones says they city is trying to do what it can to bring all the fields up to par. He wouldn't answer any other questions about repairs.

The club is also dealing with large sink holes on the John Tyler field. Club officials were forced to shut the field down for fear a player could get hurt.