Charleston Battery secures additional land on Daniel Island
The Charleston Battery Foundation has partnered with the Daniel Island Town Association (DITA) to develop a multi-field soccer complex on Daniel Island, south of Oak Leaf Street and the new Edgefield Park Pool. The partnership includes a 25-year lease for the space, which is located approximately two miles from MUSC Health Stadium.
The complex will be used by the Charleston Battery and its newly formed youth club, Charleston Battery Soccer Club. The professional club will use the facility as an additional training space and a host site for visiting Major League Soccer and United Soccer League teams, while the youth club will use it year-round for a variety of soccer activities.
“Securing a partnership with Daniel Island is immense for us,” said Charleston Battery Chairman Eric Bowman. “The facility is conveniently located to the Battery’s home stadium, which will serve as a constant reminder of the level that our elite youth players are trying to reach. We’re proud to be the only club in Charleston with direct pathways to professional teams on both the girls and boys side, and the location of the new complex strengthens that idea.”
The partnership with Daniel Island is part of Charleston Battery Soccer Club’s plan to secure quality facilities in all areas of the Lowcountry in order to provide accessible soccer programing for youth players in the entire Charleston Metropolitan Area.
In addition to providing programming ranging in level from recreational to elite, CHS Battery SC has been working with multiple municipalities to run camps and clinics for underprivileged youth. Part of the Club’s philosophy includes providing quality coaching and equal opportunities to play the game for all children regardless of socioeconomic status.
“We want to be able to give all youth soccer families in Charleston a convenient place to play the game and access to high-level coaching,” said Bowman. “Securing these fields on Daniel Island is a step in the right direction towards providing any child who wants to play an opportunity.”
“The Daniel Island Town Association is pleased to partner with the Charleston Battery’s new nonprofit The Charleston Battery Foundation to provide space for sports field development on the south end of Daniel Island,” added Jane Baker, vice president of community services for the Daniel Island Property Owners Association. “This is part of the commitment in the 4th amendment to the Development Agreement with the City of Charleston, where DITA was leased 52 acres on the south end of Daniel Island for public recreational use.”
The Battery Foundation joins two other nonprofits, Daniel Island Soccer Academy and Lowcountry Lacrosse, who have also leased land from DITA to create sporting fields for recreational use, added Baker. The fields will all be publicly accessible when not in use by the nonprofit programs.