Summerlin Youth Soccer provides workout for kids, parks

     With more than 600 children ages 3 to 13 years participating in the Summerlin Youth Soccer League this year, the master-planned community's many parks are getting as much of a workout as the kids, according to Bob Griggas, recreation manager for the Summerlin Community Association. Griggas oversees the community's recreational and sporting activities.
      "We've got teams practicing and playing at parks throughout Summerlin," Griggas said. "The recent opening of one of our newest parks in The Willows village has helped to accommodate the community's growing passion for soccer."
      The 12-acre Crossing Soccer Park features two full-size lighted soccer fields large enough to accommodate several little league teams at once. Willows Park, also 12 acres, features two lighted soccer fields, a baseball field, little league field and a basketball court. Parks in The Trails and The Pueblo are also being used.
      More than one-third of Summerlin's total acreage is dedicated to parks, golf courses, trail systems and open areas.
      According to Dan Van Epp, president of The Howard Hughes Corp.'s Summerlin Division, the commitment to building amenities has made the Summerlin lifestyle one of the best in Southern Nevada.
      "Buying a home in Summerlin is a package deal which comes with much more than just four walls and a roof," Van Epp said. "A golf course or major park in every village, miles of wide, landscaped sidewalks and trails and enhanced desert open areas come standard with every Summerlin home."
      Other amenities include eight major parks; more than 40 neighborhood parks; more than 30 miles of The Summerlin Trail, which will be more than 100 miles long upon completion; as well as two Tournament Players Club golf courses, three Sun City courses and two Arnold Palmer-designed courses that are under development.
      Summerlin has ranked as the nation's top-selling master- planned community for five of the past six years, according to an independent survey by Robert Charles Lesser & Co.
      The community is home to a dozen public and private schools, business parks, shopping centers, medical centers and more than 200 model homes. Homes are available in a variety of styles, including single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums.
      Prices start from the mid-$80,000s to more than $500,000.
      Custom lots are available in several gated neighborhoods. They range from one-quarter to three-quarters of an acre and are priced from $80,000 to more than $500,000.
      Pre-designed custom homes built by Summerlin's Preferred Custom Builders are priced from $500,000 to more than $2 million. Apartments are available with monthly rents starting from the $700s.
      To visit the Summerlin Home Finding Center North, take the U.S. 95 Expressway to Summ- erlin Parkway, go north on Town Center Drive and turn right on Hillwood Drive.
      To visit the Summerlin Home Finding Center South, travel west on Sahara Avenue past Hualapai Way and turn left on Blue Willow Lane.
      Both centers are open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.