Youth soccer championships coming to Lancaster

Less than one year after it opened, Citizens Bank Fields at Progin Park in Lancaster has been chosen to host the 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association announced Friday.

The tournament, to be held July 21-26, will feature the top 60 teams from across the country, bringing approximately 4,000 players and spectators to the region, according to a joint press release issued by the soccer association and Citizens Bank.

“These tournaments will showcase the most talented teams in the sport and this tremendous facility that has put Massachusetts on the national soccer map,” said Sid Bloom, president of the soccer association’s board of directors in the release.

The 16-field, 136-acre complex, located at the intersection of Routes 2 and 70, garnered attention last year when the association sold the field’s naming rights to Citizens Bank as one of the first non-professional sports facilities in the region to do so.

Citizens Bank Fields at Progin Park is also slated to host the U.S. Adult Soccer Association’s Veteran’s Cup from July 8-12, 2009, bringing in an additional 100 teams from throughout the United States.

The two tournaments are projected to generate $2.5 million for area hotels, restaurants, attractions, and stores, according to Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association estimates.

- Brian Benson, Globe Correspondent