Palo Alto / Stanford Community Playing Fields

I think these soccer fields will be what I miss most about Palo Alto. So many days it was just me and the ball, shooting on an empty net, letting the fence behind the goal rebound my wayward efforts.
This artificial turf is the best I’ve played on, because every time I come here to shoot around, my shot is great. Something about the surface is magical because I usually can’t play the crossbar challenge from half field so easily (or is it the wind?). My only regret is that I couldn’t play here when I was in high school, but I’m thankful to have lived so close by. The weekday pickup games around noon are always fun. The regulars are welcoming but if the games get too big then they (understandingly) might not let you play.
Another awesome thing about this place is that there is a Chipotle right across the street. Yeah… this place is perfect.

NOTE: I started this review 8÷25÷2010 but for some reason didn’t hit submit. So now I am.
This is a great field BUT a travesty has occurred. between the two main fields there is a huge area where every night until recently you could play pickup. It was great fun and there were kids and adults from all over the world there going at it nightly. someone brings cones as well. I am a late comer so it was nice to learn tricks and play streetball with a bunch of latin american and europeans. but tonight I went and it was a ghost town. turns out Palo Alto Adult Soccer League has banned ANY kicking the ball in that area at night AND hired a security guard to enforce it. Well there goes the fun pickup games where the game is being played for the love.

The Stanford soccer fields are awesome. The turf is always clean, lines clearly painted, undamaged nets.
Great fields! I think they require a permit or something though so check on that!

Right on the corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road, this huge grass and recreation area is just fantastic. Someone must have done a huge tax/​trade deal in order to turn this property over to the city. It is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Anyway, it has 2 fantastic soccer fields, parking and lighting. Not too much more to say except if you live in the area and love soccer, this is THE place for you.
ADDITIONAL REVIEW …
Here is some more information that I have found on the history of this property:
Under the agreement, Stanford will lease 6 acres at the corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road to the city for $ 1 per year for 51 years. The university also will build two soccer fields and 250 units of housing in the area.
Existing commercial buildings must be torn down to make way for the housing, so Stanford will receive vested development rights to rebuild 300,000 square feet of business space elsewhere in the park.
Plans for the Mayfield site began four years ago, when Palo Alto approached the university for help in finding a site for the relocation of the Jewish Community Center. Stanford responded by offering to lease the property to the city in exchange for 100,000 square feet of development rights.
We are very pleased to have this as the gateway to the research park,” Horton said of the Stanford-​Palo Alto Community Playing Fields. «This is one of the prime vacant pieces of property in Silicon Valley.»
So I was right, it was a great tax/​trade deal that got this field built, not an altrustic venture. Anyway, good for the community.