The Bedford Soccer League has purchased 12 acres of land from a developer of a small subdivision in the Back River Road area.

Part of the 12 acres will be turned into at least two fields, which will mainly be used for practice games. Some of the land will remain undeveloped. The site is directly south of 7 acres the Soccer League bought in 2000 from a private trust and refashioned into three soccer fields.

Both properties are on Camp Allen Road.

The latest purchase, from Gulf Coast Investment Partners Inc., cost the league about $100,000. The league hopes to appear at the next available Planning Board meeting to present its plans for the new fields, according to Ryk Bullock, who has assisted the league in both land acquisitions. He was also the trustee of the trust which sold the first parcel.

The Bedford Soccer League has 1,900 student members, ranging from elementary age to high school. Students participate in either local recreational programs or compete in one of the travel teams.

The first time the league built its own fields, it had to pass before the Zoning Board, Planning Board and the Town Council, taking two years to get all the necessary approvals, Bullock said. This time, the league is hoping for a swifter approval, so that it can begin seeding the field in the fall.

League officials said the additional fields would mean their teams would spend less time on town-owned space. That, in turn, means that the purchase benefits more than soccer league players because it will relieve the crunch for field space.

“It makes it better for everybody else wherever they’re playing,” said Jay Joseph, head of soccer operations for the league.

Bullock praised the league for taking the initiative to buy the new fields on its own. He said the purchase means a significant savings for the town.

Town Councilor Bob Young also praised the move as a good example of public-private partnerships.

He noted that private groups have also contributed to the construction of the town’s new playground. Young said he hopes other community efforts will follow the same model.

The Town Council, for example, has also asked the Bedford Village Common Committee to explore private sources of funding, according to Mike Izbicki, council chairman.