Over the last few years, Cosumnes River College has undergone numerous changes with new buildings and fields being constructed to bring new life and opportunities to the campus.

In the fall of 2013 the men’s and women’s soccer teams gained new fields as part of that construction, supported by taxpayer supported Measures M and X.

The completed project came with two 120 feet by 80 feet hybrid Bermuda grass fields and a seating capacity of 200 people per field and new parking lots at both entrances of the complex for greater accessibility.

Previously, the teams had played and practiced on fields on the north end of campus, far from the athletic facilities.

These new fields were also used to host the 2013 California Community College Athletic Association Men’s and Women’s State Soccer Championships.

Crystal Vega, a midfielder for the women’s soccer team in the 2013 season, said she had the opportunity to play on the new and old fields.

“The women’s soccer field is holding up really well, unlike other fields the women’s team have [had] to play on,” Vega said.

She said that other school’s new fields have been messed up fairly quick, but when CRC’s new field was completed the team wasn’t allowed to play on it as they had to wait for the soil to fertilize.

“The field is holding up pretty good, even though the guys who run the facility do not know how to handle the grass,” said Dominic Eslamian, a sophomore defender for the men’s soccer team.

“[However] I think they’ve learned how to handle this specific type of grass, and they’ve done good, it’s one of the best field I have ever played on.”

Alexander Herman, a former forward for the 2013 men’s soccer team, also played soccer at American River College, and said that their field is “definitely a step down” from CRC’s field.

The men’s soccer team assistant coach Brandon Evangelista said he thinks the field is terrific.

“I think they, [the fields], are holding up very well,” Evangelista said. “The two soccer fields are about a year old, but they held up outstandingly even with having [the] Sacramento Republic training on them as well.”

Before moving to play at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium and gaining their own stadium at Cal Expo, the Sacramento Republic used the facilities at CRC as their practice fields in spring 2014. The team paid a rental fee in order to gain a permit to use the fields.

While both former and current players and athletic staff said that the fields are very good, they did say there were improvements that could be made. Vega said that the lack of shade over the bleachers was an issue.

“They should make a tent or something because fans are dying in the sun, because our games are when the sun is just shining [right] on the bleachers,” Vega said.

Evangelista had his eye on the size of the section set aside for the fans.

“If there were to be improvements, they would add more seating,” Evangelista said.