“Mr. (Irving J.) Symons, our founder, was a big proponent of youth sports programs,” Darrell Slocum, executive director of the Sonora Area Foundation, or SAF, said of why the organization’s board approved the history-making grant. “That was cited by multiple board members as a deciding factor.”

Slocum said the previous largest grant the SAF had awarded was $500,000 to Adventist Health Sonora for the development of the hospital’s $36 million Health Pavilion and Diana J. White Cancer Institute, which opened in 2018.

According to the YSF, the yet-to-be-named facility is planned to include a full-size soccer field, a youth soccer field with artificial turf, four pickleball courts, two sand volleyball courts, batting cages, a 20,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion, and a 1.5-mile walking trail.

The project would be built on a roughly 7-acre property on Tuolumne Road, adjacent to the west side of Standard Park Sports Complex.

Slocum said there were no stipulations placed on the funding by the SAF board with regard to how much the YSF will charge for use or rental of the facility once it’s built, though he said it was their understanding that a “big part” of the plan would include free access.

“The board understands what they (YSF) have to do to make the project sustainable and viable,” he said.

The facility would also benefit the community with additional parking in the area that could help alleviate some issues currently being experienced at Standard Park Sports Complex, which can draw thousands of children and their families on game days.

“I think the term ‘bursting at the seams’ was used more than once during the discussion (about awarding the grant),” Slocum said. “It might not solve all the issues, but it will provide more opportunities for families to utilize these facilities.”

The YSF has also been negotiating with the county on a potential contract in which the county would pay the organization to operate Standard Park Sports Complex, though Slocum said that is separate from the proposed multi-sport facility project.

Brian Wahlbrink, a member of the foundation’s board, told the county Board of Supervisors in July during a presentation about the contract proposal that the group’s plans for the park and adjacent proposed facility were part of “community-wide vision.”

The YSF has raised about $250,000 since August for the proposed new multi-sport facility in addition to the $1.5 million from the SAF. One way it plans to continue raising money is through the sale of customizable bricks that will be embedded at the proposed facility.

Founded in 1999, the YSF’s stated mission is to “improve the life of Tuolumne County residents through the improvement and enhancement of youth play spaces, facilities and sports fields.” 

Other projects the YSF has led over the years include the renovation of Cassina High School’s baseball and softball fields, sprucing up elementary school playgrounds and fields, providing equipment for youth sports leagues, and promoting the establishment of youth sports programs.

Sonora Area Foundation was started by the late Symons, a well-known businessman and philanthropist in the county, and his sister, Elaine Symons Baker, in 1989. It has since given out more than $32 million for worthy programs and projects in the community through donor funds administered by the foundation’s board.