Looking out over the natural grass and artificial turf of the soccer fields at the new Regional Park in Mesquite, you can almost imagine hordes of children and young adults running all over the pitch, kicking soccer balls and laughing at the fun of playing outdoors on a perfect green surface.

When citizens grudgingly pay their annual property tax bills, or fork over money for sales taxes, it is this vision which helps salve the pain of giving money to a faceless government.

The notion of children at play in a city park is the endearing image that warms hearts and embodies the best impressions of “community.”

But at Mesquite’s new Regional Park located off Falcon Ridge Parkway, that’s all you can do.

Imagine.

That’s because the city has made the park a “No Kids Zone.”

Reports first started floating in last month that no one was allowed to play in the park without express permission from the city.

At a recent HOA meeting, a resident brought up the fact that their child was forced to leave the park by the Mesquite Police Department.

Since then, others have reported that the police have chased kids out of the park who were playing soccer during the day.

It turns out that the City of Mesquite has determined the park to be off-limits for general use by the citizens.

The city has deemed the new park as a “Reservations Only” facility, meaning citizens must apply for permission to use the park, an unlikely event for a couple of nine-year-olds with an old soccer ball.

The result is that the $20 million facility sits empty and unused for much of the year, waiting for officially sanctioned events.

According to an unnamed source within the city, the ruling has come down from the city offices that the police are to keep people off the fields.

In fact, a new set of iron gates has been erected across the park entrance to help keep people out.

This decision is the latest insult to the community regarding a park that was actually created not for the people, but as the venue for a national corporation which sponsors Long Drive competitions.

The city was able to wheedle major dollars out of the county toward the cost of the facility, under the auspices of creating five soccer fields.

However, it appears the soccer fields were actually a ruse to secure funding toward the annual ReMax Long Drivers of America competition which is featured each Christmas on ESPN.

The Long Drivers of America receives large corporate sponsorships in order to host the championship each year.

The event was held for the first time at the new facility in 2008.

The competition brings plenty of positive attention to the city, including heavy television coverage on the sports channel.

But it’s unusual for a town the size of Mesquite to put up public dollars to create a showplace for a corporate-driven venue.

Fortunately, the facility has also been used recently for not-for-profit events as well.

In November, it was the host site for the Nevada 3A High School State Soccer Championships.

So the facility is certainly drawing attention and use from out-of-towners.

However, with local kids forbidden to use the fields without the government’s permission, it calls into question why public funds were used to build soccer fields that are not open to the public.