Game on! City of Edmonton's sports fields finally open

Youth soccer games kicked off across Edmonton Monday night, much to the relief of players who were beginning to worry when or if their seasons would start this year.

"I was like, 'When are we going to play?'" said Morgan Denomme.

The 12-year-old has been playingoutdoorsoccer in the summer with the Edmonton Minor Soccer Associationfor six years. She said she can't remember the last time her firstgame was so late into the spring.

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Denommeplays for the Edmonton Selects under-12 girls team, which took on the Sting Sao Paulo atIvorDent Sports Park on Monday.

Brooke Loewenis on the Sting Sao Paulo. The team was supposed to start practising on April 28, but had to wait until May 1, only to end up slipping and sliding around in the mud.

"They're way better than what they were for the practices," Loewen said of the fields.

The city delayed opening the fields due to an onslaught of cold, wet weather that caused unsafe conditions at the end of April.

The Edmonton Minor Soccer Association lobbied city council not to wait until the end of the second week of May to open the fields, as per the first iteration of the city's revised timeline.

The city credits the recent warm spell with drying out the fields earlier than expected.