Plans unveiled for new soccer fields in former landfill - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

State, county and local leader joined together in Wausau at the Wausau and Marathon County Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department. There, long-running plans for soccer fields on the former Holtz-Krause Landfill site were unveiled.

The landfill closed back in 1980 and underwent a massive clean up. During that time, city and county leaders talked about what to do with the land, once it was reclaimed. Repeatedly, they talked about putting soccer fields on the former landfill, but concerns kept coming up over possible liability from the acres and acres of contamination that filled the landfill.

Earlier this year, the city, county and landfill steering committee bought the land for $272,000. Group leaders decided to move forward with development plans, once state lawmakers passed a law, allowing groups to buy closed and sealed landfills without assuming liability.

Work is expected to begin on the landfill in 2013 and organizers hope to see  soccer teams playing on the 15 fields by the fall of 2014.