Cities kick around complex ideas - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA)

The soccer complex has become a trend in the region.

'Throughout the Inland Empire, more and more cities areconstructing these complexes with multiple fields,' said Mark Chase,Ontario parks and maintenance director.

'Soccer is a very popular sport, and it can be played all yearround, because of our climate,' he said.

The Rancho Cucamonga AYSO region is one of the largest in thenation, and city officials are looking at two or three properties fora future 4-field soccer complex.

One option is land on the southeast of Napa Avenue, but KevinMcArdle, city community services director, said there arerestrictions because the speedway uses it.

'The majority of the city's lighted fields are on the west sidebecause it developed first,' McArdle said. 'Most future efforts aregoing to be in the east side. It just depends on land availabilityand funding.'

Chino's future soccer stars will be kicking around Ayala Park whentheir new complex comes.

And Pomona just broke ground on its four-field soccer complex inJuly - a facility with a price tag of $6 million.

Center tags top-ranked players to teach strategy at 2-week clinic.(Neighbor) - Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)

Byline: Sena Krieg

Summer brings with it a major influx of news releases outlining a seemingly unending list of activities available to Lombard young people - some free, some for a fee, all fun.

A recent one from Enchanted Castle Restaurant/Entertainment Complex really piqued my interest. It outlined a Q-Zar Laser Tag Sports Clinic designed to interest laser tag fans in the strategies and techniques of the game.

The entertainment center, at the north end of the Lombard Pines Shopping Center, 1103 S. Main St., will bring in coaches of top-ranked laser tag players such as Renee Mich and Ian Wadycki to run the clinic.

The four-week clinic begins the week of June 30 and has two sessions. Session one runs Monday and Wednesdays; session two on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sessions last from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Late-night sessions are also available.

Participation in the clinic costs $80 and includes a one-year membership to Enchanted Castle's laser tag arena, two full games of Q-Zar laser tag plus a game on the day you join and another during your birthday month. Other perks include an annual pizza party and discounts on laser tag garb and daily games.

For additional information, call (630) 953-7860.

Book club

Young film and book aficionados from grades three through nine are in for a treat. The Helen M. Plum Memorial Library is hosting Monday afternoon discussion groups that include games and snacks from July 7 through Aug. 4.

They will tackle such tantalizing titles such as 'Jumanji' and 'Freaky Friday.'

Party With Books sessions are for third- and fourth-graders; Devour A Book sessions are for fifth- through ninth-graders.

To register, students need to show their valid Plum Library cards in young people's services between June 21 and July 7.

WILL LODI EXPAND TROPHY CASE? THE BLUE DEVILS WRESTLING TEAM PLACES A PREMIUM ON EXCELLENCE.(Sports) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Comedian Steven Wright once pondered, ``You can't have everything. If you did, where would you put it?''

Good question. Lodi wrestling, long a winning tradition, has a trophy and awards case near capacity in the school's commons. Given that veteran coach Jack Reinwand has another undefeated squad -- which continues with team sectionals tonight -- more space is probably going to be needed.

Coincidentally, the town of Lodi will usher in a new senior high building next year. In the plans are a larger gymnasium, expanded practice facilities, and, yes, more room for hardware.

``The expectations are such that you know what to prepare for,'' said Reinwand, who has helped the Blue Devils to 15 conference titles since 1980. ``I've been preparing to (win) all the time, and it becomes the focus. You know it's going to happen in the future where you have a really solid team.''

That future is foreseeable, as the second-ranked Blue Devils are fresh off Saturday's dominating performance in the Waunakee regional. Reinwand saw the team place seven individuals -- along with the team -- into sectional competition.

``There's been a lot of new learning this season,'' said 130-pounder Andy Martin, a two-time conference champ. ``Last year's seniors, they showed you how to have fun while you're (wrestling).''

Reinwand, who is always tinkering in his coaching approach, tries to keep things fresh. He said it's healthy since distance running and the regular practice regimen can get predictable.

``They've gotten to such a high level physically, that now it's a matter of keeping their minds sharp and polishing technique,'' said Reinwand, who doubles as the high school's physical education teacher. ``This time of year, we do some fun things.''

Those things include a high-energy and complex game of ``tag'' in the school's hallways once a year.

Tag?

``They love this. The coaches will play. I wish I was a bit younger, so I could catch some of them,'' Reinwand said with a laugh.

``The beauty of it is, is it's a twist on doing the same old thing. I'll bet they run 3 miles, but they probably don't know it. Nor do they feel it, because it doesn't feel like an obligation.''

Reinwand, an NCAA champion at the University of Wisconsin in 1976, learned from one-time mentor and legendary coach Dan Gable that variety is a spice of practice.

``It doesn't matter if they have an Olympic coach. If kids don't stay fresh, the results aren't going to be there,'' said Reinwand, who was headed to the 1980 Moscow Games until President Jimmy Carter ordered a boycott of the Olympics.

The expectations to stay on top are many in this proud community.

``We have a lot of parents that show up to watch, some of whom were wrestlers here or around the area,'' said 140-pound senior Clint Ziegler. ``Some of (the fans) don't even have kids or relatives in the program. There's hardly an empty seat available at most of our meets, and they follow us pretty well on the road.''

A fan of the Blue Devils doesn't have to dig deep in the memory banks to remember a great team in Lodi. The 1997-98 squad, anchored by nine seniors, including Reinwand's son Caleb brought home a state team title.

``There's kind of a celebrity feeling around here,'' Ziegler said. ``People come up to me who know who I am, even though there are times when I don't know them.''

Said Martin, a senior: ``There's a good pressure. Everywhere I go around town, people will congratulate me.''

While the program's strong showings are well-documented annually, these are clearly Lodi's salad days: The first state team title under Reinwand last season has upped the ante.

Todd Seiler's Mount Horeb-Barneveld teams have finished second to the Blue Devils in eight of the past nine seasons.

Is it frustrating?

``Far from it; it's a benefit, because they make our program stronger when we see what we need to work on,'' Seiler said. ``We can't help but respect them, but make no mistake -- we want to beat them.''

Lodi will be looking to beat Nekoosa-Port Edwards tonight in semifinal action. Four years ago, the Papermakers handed them a rare loss in a meet by one point.

FEELING GOOD ABOUT GaREAT; Interest mounts in massive Geneva sports complex.(NEWS) - Crain's Cleveland Business

Byline: JOEL HAMMOND

Ron Clutter has been asked the question so much he now beats people to it.

'People ask me, 'Why Geneva?' Mr. Clutter said last week at the Geneva area Recreational, Educational, Athletic Trust, or GaREAT for short. 'Well, why not Geneva?

Mr. Clutter, an Ashtabula native and serial entrepreneur, is the mastermind and driving financial force behind GaREAT, a sprawling, 40-acre athletic complex just north of Interstate 90 in Ashtabula County.

The site currently features a 215,000-square-foot building split up into soccer and volleyball/basketball fields, and a 250,000-square-foot building with a 300-meter indoor track, full-length football field, state-of-the-art batting cages (including video screens capable of simulating any situation) and a 30,000-square-foot banquet facility.

In the middle with a press box and luxury boxes looking out from the soccer building sits a 5,500-seat football stadium and outdoor track. A 160,000-square-foot aquatics center, for which ground will be broken in the coming days, should be completed by spring.

Oh, and there's about 120 acres the nonprofit owns around those facilities, on which it plans to add hotels and office and retail space. Mr. Clutter, the president of HDT Engineered Technologies of Solon which in February bought Mr. Clutter's Nordic Air, a maker of air conditioning units for extreme environments, such as steel mills and military outposts said last week he and his staff are actively negotiating with developers and expects some commercial development to begin by next summer.

The final price tag of the athletic facilities will approach $60 million, financed all through private donations. Mr. Clutter said he and his wife provided a large seed donation, the amount of which he would not disclose. Others have supported the project as they have learned about it, Mr. Clutter said.

GaREAT's impact already is being felt in the area, said Mark Winchell, the executive director of the Ashtabula County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

'Our typical season is Memorial Day to Labor Day, Mr. Winchell said. 'Now they're bringing indoor events all winter. Parents are coming here as captive audience. They might not be here for recreational opportunity, but our goal is to convert them into future consumers.

The complex currently plays host to, among other things, youth clinics and tournaments, high school team camps and adult basketball, soccer and volleyball leagues. In a few weeks, Geneva High School will begin playing its home football games there. Wine festivals have been held in the aforementioned banquet facility.

But the goal is much bigger: Mr. Clutter & Co. intend to attract higher-profile acts, such as the USA junior men's volleyball team, in town last week and this week to train for an upcoming world championship qualifying tournament in Quebec. Stu Cordell, Mr. Clutter's lawyer from Ashtabula-based Warren and Young PLL, said the group also might target college conferences, such as the Mid-American, Big Ten and Big East.

On the flip side

Mr. Clutter makes no bones about his optimism, both generally and specifically with GaREAT. He says he wanted to show developers something, to have events before asking them to commit.

'They see grand plans every day that never happen, he said. Mr. Clutter also is a staunch advocate of regionalism, and he cites GaREAT's potential to Ashtabula County and Northeast Ohio as a whole for his work on and financial stake in the project.

'I believe we have a moral obligation to share in our success, Mr. Clutter said. 'Everyone loves regionalism if it's in their town; we wanted to find a way for everyone to play together. A good business or community maximizes its assets.

That's not to say reaching the group's lofty goals will be easy. While land acquisition was relatively cheap $10,000 to $15,000 an acre, according to Mr. Cordell, who said GaREAT had to do some sewer line work on the property and the site is just steps away from an I-90 interchange, it's facing an uphill battle, said Alec Pacella, a senior vice president at commercial real estate broker NAI Daus.

The I-90 corridor in which it sits, from western New York to Detroit, 'isn't the most economically viable, he said.

Plus, one needs only to look 60 miles west, Mr. Pacella said: In Avon, officials are working on a mixed-use development around the $12 million All Pro Freight Stadium, home of the independent Lake Erie Crushers. A $14 million, 66,000-square-foot YMCA is open, but other progress has been slow-moving.

'Ashtabula County isn't growing (like) eastern Lorain County, and it's taken a while (in Avon), Mr. Pacella said. 'I'm not saying (development at GaREAT) can't happen, but the complex would have to be well established. It becomes a chicken-or-egg type thing. Hotels aren't going to build there for two or three events a year.

Meanwhile, major college conference tournaments most often are held on member campuses. The Cleveland-based MAC, for instance, in 2010-11 will hold 17 of 23 championship events on campuses, and three others at professional facilities. Eighteen of 22 Big Ten events are on campus, with three in Indianapolis and another at Huntington Park in Columbus, home of the Indians' Class AAA affiliate, the Clippers. The Big East, meanwhile, holds nine of 15 events on campuses, with two others taking place in pro facilities.

'It gives schools a chance to show off campuses, and from our perspective, it certainly takes a burden off us from a planning and staffing standpoint, said MAC spokesman Ken Mather.

UNSNARLING THE COMPLEX WEB OF LICENSING RULES.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

Byline: Ed Dentry

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS

Growing addled and cross-eyed as the April 1 deadline for big-game hunting applications approaches? Are you sprouting a migraine over all that fine print?

Sorry, there is no hope. Over the years, an increasingly complex web of licensing rules with seemingly infinite footnotes and clauses of inclusion, exclusion and confusion has created a licensing tar pit for Colorado hunters, some of whom actually have quit hunting as a result of paperwork burnout.

It's all in the interest of fine-tuned hunting regulations to suit Colorado's diverse wildlife management needs. But it's all very confusing.

In the future, the regulation brochure doubtless will be a bound law book that only gifted lawyers and accountants can decipher.

The Division of Wildlife, which brings us this migraine each year, knows its regulations can be complex and hard to fathom. The agency has conducted workshops - I think of them as group therapy sessions - for befuddled applicants. Its customer service center, (303) 297-1192, answers questions about filling out the forms, if you can get through.

Answers to frequent questions also are posted on the agency's Web site, www.wildlife.state.co.us.

Recognizing the complexity of its license frameworks, the division this year has added something like flow charts to help us navigate the big-game brochure. The charts - for elk, deer, pronghorn, moose and bear - aim to help us sort out the intricacies of multiple licensing.

Gone are the days when one hunter bought one license and was allowed one critter. Now it is possible to bag two elk or deer, or even more. With obscure licenses such as the Leftover Antlerless Private Land Only license or Either-sex Plains Elk license, a resourceful hunter legally could fill boxcars with game.

The charts divide licenses into List A types, which are old-fashioned licenses allowing only one critter; List B types, which allow a second critter; and List C types (the obscure ones), which you could buy and use until the money runs out.

An observant fine-print scholar might notice this year that the B and C lists replace ``additional'' licenses. The division retired ``additional'' just when hunters (and some newspaper editors) were starting to understand its redundant cousin, the ``additional additional'' license (see List C).

Hunters aren't the only ones going cross-eyed trying to make sense of the big-game license jumble. The thicket of rules is so bewildering that the wretches charged with writing the brochure made at least a dozen mistakes.

The errors include forgotten game units, wrong hunt codes, wrong dates and a reference to cow elk as ``does.'' The corrections can be viewed on the division's Web site in a March 11 press release titled 2003 Big Game Application Deadline Approaches.

One mistake (on page 31) omitted the fourth rifle season as one for which hunters may buy over-the-counter antlerless elk licenses for units 25 and 26 north of Dotsero.

For the first time this year, cow elk tags are being sold over the counter for those units and for four units (3, 4, 301 and 441) north of Craig. Two thousand cow licenses are available for Units 25 and 26 for the second, third and fourth rifle seasons.

Another 2,000 cow tags will be sold over the counter for the units north of Craig. They are first-come, while they last.

The rifle hunting seasons for elk will run Oct. 11-15, Oct. 18-26, Nov. 1-7 and Nov. 8-12. The first rifle season is limited to elk. The last three seasons are combined seasons for deer and elk.

Hunters who prefer the second rifle season for its relatively tame weather and first shot at an unlimited number of bull tags will notice that two days have been added to that popular season this year. In response to hunter complaints, wildlife commissioners lengthened the season to offer hunters two weekends instead of one.

Those who wish to hunt deer in a separate rifle season also can extend their hunting time this year. Restrictions confining hunts to deer and elk in the same season have fallen. Under new rules this year, you may hunt elk in one combined rifle season and deer in another.

Junior Tag Rugby Tourney on November 14 - Daily News (New York, NY)

Sri Lanka, Nov. 10 -- A Junior Tag Rugby under 10 ten-a-side tournament will be held on November 14 from 8.30 a.m. onwards at Royal Sports Complex.

This is the first time an open Junior Tag Rugby tournament being organized by the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU) in a carnival atmosphere. The draw for the tournament will be held on Wednesday November 11 at 4.30 p.m. at Royal Sports Complex.

Those participants from clubs or schools who are interested should contact N.J. Mudannayaka. (Coordinator on 0771732513)

According to Mudannayaka the WPRFU, hopes to have 40 teams on this day. At present 28 teams have given their consent for this Open Junior Tag Rugby tournament. All participants will be awarded certificates.

Those parents who are present on the day of the game will be able to witness a high standard of tag rugby revealed Mudannayake.

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Daily News Sri Lanka. For more information on news feed please contact Sarabjit Jagirdar at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

Nebraska facility gives U glimpse of what it hopes for; The $18.7 million Hendricks Training Complex serves as both a practice arena, a place to relax and a recruiting tool.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: AMELIA RAYNO; STAFF WRITER

LINCOLN, NEB. - Some look at a college basketball practice facility and see a necessary part of a successful puzzle. Others see an effective tool for netting the best young players. Still others look at it as a simple ode to excess.

Gophers men's coach Tubby Smith looks at these lavish complexes and wonders why -- in a Big Ten Conference where every school except Minnesota and Northwestern has one -- his team still lags behind. Perhaps Smith wants evidence of the same sentiment Nebraska coach Doc Sadler sees in the Cornhuskers' 80,000-square-foot Hendricks Training Complex, which is new this season.

'Commitment is something everybody talks about, but this shows our commitment,' Sadler said shortly after the October unveiling.

With the Gophers playing at Nebraska on Sunday, Smith and his staff and players were able to tour the facility over the weekend. A separate tour Monday revealed what they saw: The $18.7 million addition to the Bob Devaney Sports Center is at once stunning, functional and over-the-top.

There are separate identical, sound-proofed practice courts -- which stretch full-court on all four sides -- for men's and women's basketball, with off-court auxiliary rooms to treat injuries. A classroom has theater-style seats with swivel-arm tables facing a wall-size video screen.

A 5,000-square-foot weight room connects to an area where players can get supplements and shakes. Locker rooms have hot and cold pools and towel warmers, and iPads are built into every player's locker. Each custom shower stall has built-in speakers and multiple shower heads.

Every bathroom stall contains a television, and flatscreens are peppered throughout nearly every space in the complex. A players lounge contains 400 inches' worth of TVs on one wall, mounted above a wide, custom-built couch. There is a pool table, a kitchen and massage chairs.

'They wanted a place where the players could relax, hang out, be with each other, more or less,' team spokesman Shamus McKnight said.

But of course, it's more than that. McKnight said the Huskers hope the facility -- which was fully funded by alumni donations and fundraising -- will be a major recruiting tool, particularly for a men's team that went 7-9 in the Big 12 last season and currently sits 11th in the 12-team Big Ten.

The same formula could be helpful for the Gophers. Smith reiterated last week that a practice facility is a 'need.' At a proposed price tag of $15 million, such a facility will require major fundraising and be a top agenda item for the next athletic director.

Sports complex plan divides City Council - Pasadena Star-News

SOUTH PASADENA - The way Councilman Mike Ten sees it, $100,000 isa small investment for the right to use South Pasadena High School'snew state-of-the-art track, field and sports complex, whichofficially opened Friday.

Ten has suggested the city pay that amount to the South PasadenaUnified School District, which spent nearly $3 million renovatingthe school's track and field.

The funding would be contingent upon whether the city and theschool district can work out an agreement that would allow the cityto use the facility during non-school hours, Ten said.

The idea, however, has not gone over well with some councilmembers. And school district officials have been thus far 'hesitantto put anything to paper,' Ten said.

Ten said the contribution would give the city a valid claim tothe state-of-the-art facility, which it could then use for programslike jogging classes and events like the fourth of July fireworksshow and the annual Relay for Life cancer walk.

He cited other groups around the San Gabriel Valley that havecontributed to the district in exchange for use the new facilities,including the Polytechnic School in Pasadena, which provided$10,000.

'Pasadena Poly could have more of a claim to the track than wewould,' Ten said. 'Why shouldn't the city participate?'

But Mayor Michael Cacciotti said Ten's suggestion doesn't makesense, given that South Pasadena is facing about $100 million inoverdue repairs to its deteriorating infrastructure.

Others, including former Mayor Harry Knapp, say spending $100,000for use of the track sends a wrong message to voters, who will beasked on Nov. 6 to approve a 3 percent utility tax.

The tax would raise about $1.3million a year, with at least65percent going toward infrastructure repairs. Knapp, who wrote theargument in favor of the tax in the city's voter guide, said hecould not justify it if officials turn around and spend thousands ona nonessential item.

Unlike the city, the school district has a foundation that hasraised millions of dollars on its behalf, he said.

'It would be great if the city had that kind of volunteerorganization that could raise that kind of coin for the city,' Knappsaid.

Councilman Richard Schneider said he was 'unalterably opposed' toTen's idea. But the other four members appear to support it.

'We forget how much value we have in this town because of theschools,' said Councilman David Sifuentes, adding the council should'set aside 'our team versus their team' - the school board versusthe City Council.'

Councilman Philip Putnam said he might consider contributing - ifthe city can secure a long-term agreement with the districtguaranteeing it the right to use the track.

'That would be worth something we can pay for,' he said.

The school district's initial cost- estimate for the trackfacility was $1.9 million. But additional costs, particularly forthe track's turf, have pushed the price tag to $2.6million. That'snot counting another $300,000 needed to complete the project'ssecond phase - construction of permanent visitors bleachers and arenovated baseball field.

School board member Don Eggleston noted that other districts keeptheir fields and facilities closed after school hours. The district,however, spent millions, in part so that the community also couldenjoy South Pasadena High's new amenities.

City staff is now working on a formal joint-use agreement for thetrack. The matter is expected to come back to the council inDecember.

cortney.fielding@sgvn.com

Cost plays into feasibility of Monroeville sports complex - Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

With an array of existing amenities that includes a largecommunity park, walking trails and a swimming pool, Monroeville ispoised to add another recreational resource -- a sports complex.

A group of council members is working with the municipality'sparks and recreation department to determine the feasibility ofleasing or buying the former Monroeville Sports Center off MacBethDrive.

Monroeville's recreation programs need more space, according toThird Ward Councilman Ron Harvey, a member of the parks andrecreation committee.

'We get residents calling us saying they lost a facility becauseschool programs need practice,' Harvey said. 'I'm not trying to slamthe school district, but their facilities must go to them first.'

A new building likely would be out of the question because of thecost, Harvey said.

Giving people somewhere to play sports such as dek hockey,basketball and volleyball in an existing facility, he said, wouldhinge on making it self-sufficient.

It could give municipal employees a place to exercise, makingthem healthier and perhaps giving the municipality a break on health-insurance costs.

'It may, in the long run, pay for itself,' Harvey said.

Uses could expand to include arts and crafts, dance classes, fineart programs and painting, said John Balicki, parks and recreationdirector for Monroeville.

'There are so many adult programs we can't address,' he said. 'Ona personal level, I feel bad because the No. 1 health epidemic inour country is inactivity. Obesity is a result of inactivity.'

Council discussed an indoor pool inside a recreational facilitywhen it planned the community park, according to Second WardCouncilman Dave Kucherer, but the price tag got in the way.