Sports complex to break ground

Danette Goulet

After nearly a decade of planning and a seemingly endless stream of

environmental and financial concerns, city officials will break ground

Saturday on the controversial $18-million sports complex in Central Park.

“This is to celebrate finally making it to this point,” said deputy

director of community services Jim Engle. “We’ve been working on this

project for a decade, trying to create a sports complex in Huntington

Beach Central Park. We’ve completed the environmental review ands we’re

finally at the point where we can turn dirt.”

The complex will cover 45-acres of the 156-acres of undeveloped land

left in Huntington’s Central Park. The complex will be built between

Goldenwest and Gothard streets next to the Murdy Community Center.

It will have eight softball fields with eight overlaying soccer and/or

football fields, an 800-space parking lot, two tot lots, two restroom and

concession stand buildings and a maintenance building, Engle said. A

five-acre site in the center, designated as “Phase II,” will be home to

batting cages and possibly four roller hockey rinks.

Once construction begins, it is expected to take 18 months to complete

the first phase. The complex will sit on what was once a landfill.

The first six months of construction and $8,000 to $10,000 of the

$18-million price tag will be spent to make sure the water is clean and

stabilize the soil on the site, Engle said.

It is that hefty price tag that has caused much of the controversy.

“The total amount of money they’re talking about tends to be a scary

number,” said City Councilman Ralph Bauer. “But what people don’t

recognize is that it needs to be cleaned up. No matter what we’d do

there, even as open space, it needs to be cleaned up. The majority of

money we’re spending there is to clean it up -- that’s the lion share.”

Those who oppose the project, such as Councilwoman Debbie Cook, feel

now is not the time to be spending that money.

“My concern is the money and especially at this time when we’re having

so many money problems as it is,” Cook said. “I thought it would be

better to wait until the city could afford it. Obviously we want to

provide as many services as possible to people, but the land will always

be there.”

While fellow Councilwoman Connie Boardman and many residents agree

with Cook, the City Council voted to move forward with the project.

“Today in Huntington Beach we have an overwhelming number of young

people who participate in soccer and youth sports -- close to twice the

number we once had,” Bauer said in defense of City Council’s decision.

Bauer also attributed the city’s low crime rate to the high level of

participation in youth sports.

“One of the reasons we have a low crime rate is that we occupy young

people at a young age. They tend to be less prone to get involved in

antisocial activities,” he said. “What better place to invest your taxes

than the youth of our nation?”

To pay for the sports complex project and the refurbishing of the

city’s south beaches from Huntington Street to 1st Street, including a

new lifeguard headquarters, the city borrowed $32-million in revenue

bonds.

The money generated from the two venues is meant to pay off the bonds

over the next 20 years, Engle said, through beach parking, league

admission and concessions.

The concern is that those revenues won’t cover the debt, so city

officials are looking for other opportunities, he added.

“We were actually $250,000 short,” Engle said. “[Incoming revenue

will] cover capitol costs and operational costs. We’re looking at other

opportunities to fund overall maintenance.”

City officials are hoping “Phase II,” which will develop the

five-acres in the center with the roller hockey arena and batting cages

can generate additional income through participation fees.

“We’re not sure what the final product will be,” Engle said.