Myth: Surf Cup Sports Kicked Polo off the Property

FACT: This claim is ridiculous.

Let’s look at the history. Starting in 1992, and through the awarding of the lease in 2016, the San Diego Polo Club primarily survived because of the financial contributions of Surf Cup and the Surf Soccer Club. They rarely made improvements to the facility and used a majority of their financial contributions to offset the costs of their personal polo-playing fees and membership shortfalls. Yes, the kids paid for the polo and all the facts support it.

Despite that and a very contentious relationship between the two organizations, Surf offered to go into the new lease RFP process with Polo “hand in hand” so they could secure the facility together. After months of negotiations, Polo refused, wanted complete control, and ultimately submitted their own unsuccessful bid for the property. What the public doesn’t know is at the time, Polo owed Surf many thousands of dollars. With their steep decline in membership, mismanagement, constant infighting, and power struggles, one truth remained, they simply couldn’t pay their bills. Rather than let the city rent and polo staff go unpaid, or the facility fall any deeper into disrepair, Surf stepped up and Polo fell apart and into insolvency.

In an effort to keep equestrian uses intact and preserve historical use, in late 2016, Surf entered into an agreement with members of the old Polo Club and started Surf Polo Club. Almost immediately, despite further equestrian facility investment from Surf Cup Sports, Surf Polo couldn’t attract meaningful membership, began to fall behind financially and they never recovered. Surf continued working with them for another season and they only fell deeper into debt before ultimately failing. In the last few years, Surf spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to save polo. Despite their many battles, Surf didn’t remove polo from the facility, polo removed polo.

Myth: The Tournaments Have Grown in Frequency & Size

FACT: Not true.

Overall, facility usage from the mid-80s until today has been remarkably consistent. Uninformed folks like to overly romanticize the good ol’ days, but they simply don’t know the facts and the history of the site. They choose to forget about days when dog shows, car shows, overnight RV camping, unsupervised sporting events, corporate events, concerts, 16+ polo events, and using the grass as a runway for planes was the norm. Surf has records of every event going back decades. The facts and the history, as well as the San Diego City Council decision, was on their side.

Regarding tournament size, Surf Cup has been occurring at the Polo Fields since 1992. In 1992, the size of the tournament was limited by the number of playable fields, the length of a game, and daylight hours. Today these limitations remain and therefore Surf Cup tournaments have nearly the exact impact today as the previous 28 years.

Further, the Surf Soccer Club that practices and plays games regularly at Surf Sports Park is roughly the exact same size as it was when it started using the Polo Fields in 1993…about 850 kids.

Myth: Surf Cup Sports Traffic “Snarls” the Neighborhood

FACTS: This claim is false.

Surf continues to work to address any issues as they may periodically arise. They are well aware of the impacts their occasional traffic makes on the community and they’re committed to working on various solutions to make the roads safer and more functional.

Nonetheless, this claim has been greatly exaggerated and we have the proof. In 2019, Surf Cup Sports entered into an agreement with the 22nd Ag to do a shared 3rd party traffic study of the impacts during one of the largest events and the study proved Surf was correct. Surf received a passing score and an average added delay of only 6 seconds per vehicle. True, there are periods during Surf’s busiest events when traffic can be impacted and no one likes that, we can all agree. Truth is, the most impactful traffic is limited to less than 15 days per year and even on those days it is still sporadic. There are a lot of contributing factors such as population growth, old and under-sized roadways, busy beach traffic, normal rush hour, construction, etc, etc. But the assertions and blame that Surf receives about traffic are simply unfounded, unproven, and untrue and we have plenty of evidence to prove it. The city has investigated these claims, the CHP has investigated these claims, SDPD has investigated these claims, and despite all of this Surf works constantly to improve their traffic. Surf has changed Fri-Sun events to Sat-Mon to reduce Friday impacts. They’ve staggered game times to smooth incoming and exiting traffic. They deploy street signage and traffic warnings, and they hire traffic control officers. Surf goes above and beyond what they’re required to do and they are happy to do it. The traffic situation isn’t perfect, but Surf can assure you they’ll continue improving.

Myth: Lights Aren’t Allowed on Fields

FACTS: This claim is false.

Surf’s lease does not prohibit lighting at night. Overhead light towers have been used at Surf Sports Park since 1989.  The light towers were installed by the SDPC and were a nightly part of the Polo Club arena experience and used as many as 100 nights per year, often until 10pm.  Many times they were left on accidentally overnight.   

Surf currently uses 8 portable lights for night-time training during the shortest days of the year (mostly during Day Light Savings). These lights are rolled on and off the fields each day and lighted training sessions end at or before 8:30pm, Mondays thru Thursdays.  

Lights are a necessity as many of their athletes travel from all over the county to attend elite training sessions and cannot physically get to Del Mar after school and before daylight hours end.  Much like a vehicle’s headlights, these lights are bright when you look into them, but they’re inadequate for game use and provide barely enough light to cover one soccer field for practice.  The maximum throw of these lights as evidenced in our pictures is about 150 to 200 feet.    

Myth: Surf Cup Sports Exceeds its Noise Limitations

FACTS: This claim is false.

This is another ridiculous claim. After taking over the lease in 2016, the City of SD conducted onsite sound testing over the three busiest days of their largest tournament, Surf Cup. The sound metering registered scores of 57, 56 and 55 decibels on average over three consecutive days and during their busiest time of day when the facility was near capacity. To be clear, the facility is not allowed to exceed an average of 75 decibels over the course of any given hour. Meaning, the average noise cannot exceed more than 75 decibels sustained for an hour straight. The city employee who did the testing was strategically located in a perch on the hillside just under our closest neighbors to the east. As the wind blows east, this was the loudest and most prudent location to conduct the testing and Surf never came close to exceeding the maximum. More recently, and as a result of more complaints, several high-ranking city employees toured various neighborhood streets to experience the event sound firsthand during one of Surf’s largest events. They concluded that no further investigation was required.

Myth: Surf Cup Sports is Not a Good Steward of the Land

FACTS: This claim is false.

Since Surf won the lease in 2016, they have invested over $3m to upgrade the facility into a place of pride for all their attendees and the local community. Surf disassembled the existing and abandoned equestrian structures and donated them to a horse ranches in Menifee and San Ysidro. They removed all of the abandoned and dilapidated Polo Club equipment and updated all of the onsite utilities to current standards. In an effort to reduce onsite dust, they invested in Class 2 road base and decomposed granite throughout the facility.

Surf invested in a new irrigation system that allows for the use of recycled water. The new irrigation system, coupled with Surf’s partnership with OMWD, will result in saving over 100m gallons of potable water each year. Further, starting in 2019, Surf began the process of eliminating the sale of plastic water bottles during tournaments. Surf has partnered with Refill90 as our official “Sustainability Partner” to promote the use of reusable water bottles for all Surf events. This is not a new initiative for Surf as they’ve been 100% recycling at all Surf events since 1997.

Surf is also committed to repairing and renovating the Coast to Crest Trail as well as various beautification projects throughout the facility. The facility is regarded as one of the cleanest facilities in the County and Surf regularly conducts trash sweeps in and around our local neighborhoods and has done so for over 25 years.

Myth: The Facility is Not Open to the Community

FACT: This is completely false. Surf Sports Park is more open and accessible to the community than at any time over its history. As opposed to the prior tenants, Surf has made it a point to welcome daily users of all types; walkers, runners, bikers, families, athletes in training, and various community groups like Rady’s Children’s Hospital, Solana Beach Rotary, FNA Flag Football, California Highway Dog Patrol, and the San Dieguito River Conservancy, just to name a few. While revenue generating events were always welcomed in the past, these types of passive uses were routinely turned away in favor of a closed facility. During the Polo off-season and on non-Surf Soccer days, gates were often left locked, weekend access was occasional and unpredictable, and weekday use often times ended when onsite staff departed at 3pm. Occasionally, complaints to the city say the fences are closed and deny field access.  This is false.  Though not allowed, the facility is accessible 24 hours a day by foot and the gates are locked on rare weather related and holiday occasions with many “walk around” solutions.  Surf remains committed to the facility being a community-use asset and accusations to the contrary are false.

Myth: Surf is Over-Using or Maximizing the Use of The Facility

FACT: This is completely false. Youth and Adult sports field availability is at an all-time premium. Based on local field shortages alone, Surf could rent space daily to local organized groups, but choose not to. Youth and Adult sports events are at an all-time high in popularity. Surf has no shortage of potential customers trying to secure dates for mainly weekend access, but routinely turn them away. Surf Soccer, for over 28 years has had between 800 and 950 kids in its program. Surf could easily grow the size of the club, perhaps doubling or tripling in size, but instead chooses to keep the numbers consistent. All of these uses and more (Weddings, Corporate Events, etc.) could bring important revenue and help to grow their company, but maximizing those uses aren’t consistent with who they are and what they believe in. A recent Surf Sports Park use analysis determined that the facility usage during daylight hours (only) was at 28.1%. When factoring in the size of the facility the effective rate stood at 12.4% out of 100% maximum usage. Local and County facilities (parks, schools, etc.) have use averages exceeding 90% with effective rates above 80%. In the eyes of many in the local community, the facility is underutilized and the numbers support that argument. Surf governs the property, not for maximum usage, only for best and highest usage. Surf takes all factors into careful account; environmental, neighborhood sensitivity, traffic, noise, safety, and they try to create a balanced use.

FACT: This is completely false. Many of Surf’s loudest supporters live in the local communities surrounding the facility. Most of the daily users are local residents and they love and take advantage of the facility improvements. Many of the club members and event participants are local residents who are thrilled with the current condition of the facility. Surf has tremendous support from the local business community.

Surf faces a very vocal minority who is understandably frustrated because they have lost every battle, and they will resort to any measure to disrupt Surf's operations and hurt the organization. They’re not interested in compromise and constructive conversation. They’re only interested in having their agenda met and unfortunately, nothing short of that will satisfy them. Thus far, nothing that Surf has done has worked and they’ve had ongoing issues with some neighbors for over 25 years.

We are confident that in the community of common sense the large majority of people see the difference making value in an organization like Surf. Surf has a long track record of excellence and they have represented our local community and San Diego for over 44 years. They have no desire to have anything other than a positive relationship with their detractors, but that relationship will take cooperation from both sides to develop and Surf always has an open door.   

Myth: Surf is Not Allowed to Use El Camino Gate

Fact: This is absolutely untrue. The facility’s Via de la Valle point of ingress/egress is the main point of access because it simply offers the safest solution for staff, deliveries and daily attendees. During Surf’s busiest events they use the El Camino gate as an exit to assist in traffic flow. This is also the main point of access for emergency access and anytime it helps to reduce point of use access so they can keep dust at a minimum. Other than a few blocked weekends coordinated with the 22nd Ag, they have complete access.

Side Note: For those who have witnessed vehicles illegally u-turning on El Camino Real during Surf events, this is due to the fact that many GPS systems mistakenly direct cars to this gate. Surf has corrected this on many systems, but for those who type in “Polo Fields” it can still lead them in that direction. Surf communicates specific traffic directions prior to every event and never allows dangerous drop-offs of any kind. They’ve assured us correcting these issues this will be a focal point for future events.

Myth: “Surf is Only in it for the Money”

FACT: We find this myth to be particularly offensive. For almost 20 years, 1992 to 2012, Surf Cup had one full-time employee who gave up a lucrative construction business to dedicate his time to the betterment of Surf’s organization and despite overseeing an operation that donated between 200k and 300k per year, he never made more than a modest income. Today, Surf Cup Sports is similarly structured. They run very lean, with a dedicated staff of people who believe deeply in their mission. The Surf Club president has never collected one paycheck in over 8 years of service. The Board of Directors has never been comprised of anything but volunteers and key staff.

Since 2012, Surf has invested every penny of profit back into the facility, donations to local non-profits, facility acquisition, and fighting their legal battles.

Furthermore, Surf is very careful to balance the use of the facility to offset the costs of maintaining it and the costs of running a non-profit youth soccer organization that scholarships many of its disadvantaged athletes. Simply put, they run just enough events to pay their bills, continue making improvements, and fighting their legal battles. It’s ironic in many ways, that people who think they run too many events are challenging their use which in-turn causes them to run more events to pay the attorneys.

Let’s look at the facts, Surf has an endless supply of event runners wanting to rent the facility, but they say no to almost all of them. Weddings, corporate events, fundraisers, concerts, adult and youth sports, 5k’s, church groups, and on and on, approach Surf constantly and they could pursue lucrative deals with all of them but they don’t. Surf Soccer Club is the most prestigious of its kind in the country. They purposely limit the size of the club to about 800 to 950 kids per year. How does limiting their event rentals and the size of the club mesh with the crazy narratives that they’re in it for the money? That just doesn’t hold water. It’s obvious to anyone who pays attention that they carefully monitor the usage and the size of their club to maintain balance and if pure money-making was their goal the opposite would be true.

Myth: “Surf isn’t affordable”

FACT: This is false. Surf Cup is proud to have never turned away a team qualified to play in one of their college showcase events. Surf Cup has provided financial assistance for entire teams needing help with travel, hotel rooms and registration fees.

Surf Soccer has never turned away an athlete for financial reasons. The Surf organizations represent the “Best of the Best,” not the best of the best for only those who can afford it.

Surf Cup Sports donates the field use to Surf Soccer for free and helps subsidize the Surf scholarship program with an additional cash donation yearly. The value of these donations alone is worth almost $750,000 per year. How does Surf Soccer benefit from free fields? It allows them to hire the best coaches in the country. If you think of Surf as an elite private school for soccer, then you should think of their coaches as the best teachers in the business.

Myth: “Surf is bad for the environment”

FACT: This is false. Surf has been a leader in event recycling and cleanliness for over 25 years. Surf has cleaned the facility, removed invasive species, and rehabilitated and recycled everything possible along the way. The southern access road along the river has gone from being used every day over the history of the facility to being used about 15 days per year. The activity on that side of the property, the most sensitive side environmentally, is at an all time low.

Fertilization and water runoff are always big topics, but people don’t realize the facility has perfect soil to handle this type of percolation, and meaningful runoff only happens during the most extreme weather conditions.

Long gone are the days the facility would be penalized for the disposal of animal waste and runoff into the river. Long gone are the days the facility wasn’t up to current utility codes. Long gone are the days the onsite fuel emissions weren’t held to current standards.

Animals are also very important to Surf. Surf has a no kill/no harm policy for any wildlife, even the rattlesnakes. Surf opened the facility to all pet owners and are proud to have some of the local CHP K-9’s train onsite. The facility has become a haven for more walkers, runners and cyclists than ever before.

One last note - Surf Sports Park is a very important part of the environment for our children. It’s a beautiful open space is unlike any other in the country, and one of the most iconic in all of youth sports. It’s been a safe place for kids to play for decades and we believe it’s possible for the river and its animals, the trail, the fields, the kids and even the neighbors to coexist.