By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

MT. JACKSON — The Shenandoah County Soccer League could always choose to kick itself for its impending debt, but that would mask the accomplishments it has made so far.

"If not now, when? And if not us, who?" said the league's president, Mike Liskey. "That's the view I've taken on this."

Ground will be broken Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. on the first phase of the league's plan to construct five full-size fields at the end of Koontz Road. About $100,000 has been raised for the $300,000 project, recreation commissioner Bill Woodwell said.

"We've made no real blunders," Liskey said. "The whole thing has been a learning experience. We hope that [the groundbreaking] will boost fundraising efforts."

While the groundbreaking should be celebrated, officials said it's important to keep in mind the league still has a long way to go.

"When this phase is done, we'll be in debt — pretty substantially," Liskey said. "We certainly don't want people to think all is well, we've raised $300,000, we're going to build the thing. ... [Also], we don't want to dwell on that we're in debt."

The first phase entails work on the road into the site, portions of the parking lot and three of the five fields, he said. The league purchased the property, a 14-acre former cornfield, for just under $35,000 last year.

Members of the Board of Supervisors, which has pledged $25,000 to the capital campaign, as well as major donors and league players and families have been invited to attend the groundbreaking. Some work already has begun at the site by John Chroniger and Mike Jordan, who are coordinating the construction with Partners Excavating Co., of Harrisonburg, Woodwell said.

The grass needs a year to grow, Liskey said, meaning that league play will begin at the site in the fall of 2009. Until then, various fields at schools, businesses and town parks will be used for game play, as has been the norm. Even after the soccer complex is open, the county's other fields will still be used for practices and some games, Woodwell said.

New fields have long been needed for better game play and safety, officials said. League participation could even increase, Liskey said.

"Simply, it's a win for everyone," he said of the soccer complex. "It has been a long road to get to where we are."

Naming rights to fields and the entire complex remain available. For more information, visit www.shentel.net/shenandoah-soccer.

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com