Del Mar Youth Sports Center sparks controversy and lawsuit

The well-maintained football pitches and facilities of Surf sports park in Del Mar are surrounded by nature preserves and high-end homes.

The scene is in many ways picturesque, but there is trouble in paradise.

“Over the course of a year, we’re going to have 400,000 to 500,000 people coming to this place because of the congestion, the noise problems, the pollution,” said local resident Larry Pollack.

He lives near the park, with a view that overlooks the fields.

Pollack said that in the past the fields used to be an open, public space, but they don’t feel that way anymore.

He said this problem has become particularly evident since 2016, when Surf sports took over site operations from the San Diego Polo Club.

“What they’ve done here is they’ve decided to make this almost a West Coast headquarters,” Pollack said.

Surf Sports has a 28 year lease with the City of San Diego, which owns the property.

“We invested about $5 million into the property to transform it from a horse property into the best youth sports facility in the country,” said Surf Sports COO Brian Eng.

Surf Sports’ website said they host “more than 35 events in San Diego” each year, drawing people from all over the country. They are also said to be “one of the largest and most successful event organizers in the city”.

But neighbors and some organizations are upset about the frequency, size and commercial nature of activities and events on the property.

They said this was a violation of the lease and the original land grant deed. The Fairbanks Polo Club Homeowners Association, which surrounds the park, is suing the city over it.

Although Pollack is not part of this lawsuit, he agrees with what it represents.

“I think the city of San Diego is just as responsible — maybe even more so — because they understand and have acknowledged what’s in the lease. And they’re allowing Surf Cup to break that lease,” Pollack said.

The lawsuit says the offense hosts events too frequently, up to 200 days a year. It says the lease only allows for 25 event days per year.

KPBS asked Enge about that number. He didn’t have exact numbers, but said Surf Sports also allows other groups to use the park and talked about their overall positive impact.

“We’re creating hotel rooms, jobs, economic impact by bringing people to the city here,” Enge said. “We help children pursue their dreams. I’m having a hard time figuring out what’s wrong with this.

Pollack said he’s concerned the park has become a large sports and events venue, which is outside of what the land grant agreement allows — “non-commercial recreational uses that don’t involve large groups of people or cars.”

Others in the community, such as Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley President Maggie Brown, I agree.

“It should basically be used as a park,” she said.

Her organization unsuccessfully sued the city in 2016 over the use of the fields.

Brown said there is sensitive wetland habitat all around the area.

“All the wildlife corridors are cut off by the fence that’s there. Birds stay away from him. It’s really very harmful to the environment,” Brown said of the park’s current operations.

In the past few years, Surf Sports has previously been cited for illegally diverting stormwater and issued a civil penalty notice for unauthorized grading and filling.

Enge said environmental concerns have been addressed, but Brown is concerned about further expansion efforts. This includes an adjacent property that is earmarked for a youth sports complex.

“The things they’ve done there is an enhanced commercial use that’s specifically not allowed by the deed to grant the land they’re on,” Brown said.

Enge said the size and intensity of the events have not increased over time and that they strive to honor all aspects of their lease.

“We’ve had the same number of flights for many, many years. The property is the same size. You cannot put more teams in one event at the same time in daylight in the same type of fields,” Enge said.

As of 2022, some of the pitches at Surf Sports Park are used by the local women’s professional soccer team, San Diego Wave FC. The lawsuit says this has added to problems with public access and commercial use of the site.

Enge said concerns about the land use come from a “small but vocal minority” who want “peace and quiet in their neighborhood.”

“We don’t start our events too early, we don’t do them too late. We notify them when they have events. We want to be respectful, good neighbors,” Enge said.

The park is in San Diego Councilmember Joe LaCava’s district. We reached out to him, the mayor’s office and the city attorney’s office, but they all said they couldn’t comment pending litigation.

However, the city attorney’s office told KPBS that a trial date has been set for March 14, 2025.