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AYSO joins fray for funds
Proponents of new soccer fields lobby way onto crowded cast seeking money for their projects.
By Jason Wells
CITY HALL — A list of nearly $100 million in capital improvement projects is scheduled to be finalized today at a special City Council meeting, even as soccer league volunteers make a push for more fields in what is sure to be a growing chorus of last-minute funding pitches.
American Youth Soccer Organization officials have been lobbying hard this past week for more money and resources to expand the number of dedicated soccer fields as a way to absorb about a 10% annual growth rate over the past several years.
But for all the broad-based support that youth sports enjoys, the request must also compete with funds for fire stations, libraries, disability access, infrastructure and other big-ticket items.
“We know they’re very necessary; however, we only have two dedicated parks,” said Aldo Mascheroni, commissioner for AYSO Region 88, which includes Glendale.
Mascheroni would like to see 10 fields in Glendale dedicated to soccer use — a goal he says is long range but doable.
There are several other long-range — and expensive — projects on the list, which sets priorities through the 2016-17 fiscal year but is revisited annually.
Mayor Ara Najarian has repeatedly pushed for at least some of the funds in the $100-million capital improvement budget to be allocated to a multimillion-dollar, full-scale aquatic center.
Ongoing closed-session negotiations to purchase the Rockhaven Sanitarium in Montrose for a new library on the historic site and a refurbished Fire Station 29 on Honolulu Avenue are expected to change the $6.2-million recommendation that was included on the original December list, although city officials won’t say in which direction.
And then there are the soccer fields — proponents of which have been lobbying the City Council to dedicate more resources than what is designated in the current list of funding recommendations.
AYSO officials, volunteers and families have been sending e-mails over the past week to city executives and council members in a final lobbying push for more fields before today’s afternoon meeting.
“The league is really trying to find the space for all the kids,” league coach Alex Van Kovn said. “It’s really hard to absorb the influx of kids each year.”
The size of the AYSO league in Glendale — made up mostly of 8- to 12-year-olds — has grown from 3,000 in 2006 to about 3,600 now, soccer officials said.
While the league, which coordinates closely with the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, has done its best to absorb the increase through crafty scheduling and field rotations, 350 children had to sit out this season due to lack of resources, Mascheroni said.
“It’s criminal that that should happen,” he said.
At least $5.5 million has been recommended to develop “Parksite A,” a large swath of land off Fern Lane near the Glendale Sports Complex, for soccer use, but work there isn’t scheduled to start until 2010, parks Director George Chapjian said.
“It is a real need,” he said.
While his department has been trying to accommodate the league’s rapid growth, only so much can be done until it starts affecting other uses at shared fields — which handle the bulk of the city’s soccer use, Chapjian said.
AYSO officials agree that without a long-term strategy, the waiting lists will continue to grow.
Some relief could come this season with the reopening of the Scholl Canyon fields, which had been closed for site maintenance. And $3.5 million has been recommended for a new soccer field at Columbus Elementary School.
Parks and league officials said two more fields dedicated for soccer use would certainly alleviate the short-term problem, but at about $3.5 million a pop, competition for capital improvements fund is already tight.
Never before has the City Council taken eight months to settle on a capital improvement project budget, city executives say.
And while the mayor and others have hailed the process as being the most thorough examination of the city’s improvement needs, many in city government are anxious to finalize the list as a fresh round of fiscal year 2008-09 talks loom.
“I’m hoping that we will make the final decisions and go ahead and complete the process,” Councilman Frank Quintero said.
The City Council will consider finalizing the list of priorities during a special meeting at 2:30 p.m. today in council chambers, 613 E. Broadway.
JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.
American Youth Soccer Organization officials have been lobbying hard this past week for more money and resources to expand the number of dedicated soccer fields as a way to absorb about a 10% annual growth rate over the past several years.
But for all the broad-based support that youth sports enjoys, the request must also compete with funds for fire stations, libraries, disability access, infrastructure and other big-ticket items.
“We know they’re very necessary; however, we only have two dedicated parks,” said Aldo Mascheroni, commissioner for AYSO Region 88, which includes Glendale.
Mascheroni would like to see 10 fields in Glendale dedicated to soccer use — a goal he says is long range but doable.
There are several other long-range — and expensive — projects on the list, which sets priorities through the 2016-17 fiscal year but is revisited annually.
Mayor Ara Najarian has repeatedly pushed for at least some of the funds in the $100-million capital improvement budget to be allocated to a multimillion-dollar, full-scale aquatic center.
Ongoing closed-session negotiations to purchase the Rockhaven Sanitarium in Montrose for a new library on the historic site and a refurbished Fire Station 29 on Honolulu Avenue are expected to change the $6.2-million recommendation that was included on the original December list, although city officials won’t say in which direction.
And then there are the soccer fields — proponents of which have been lobbying the City Council to dedicate more resources than what is designated in the current list of funding recommendations.
AYSO officials, volunteers and families have been sending e-mails over the past week to city executives and council members in a final lobbying push for more fields before today’s afternoon meeting.
“The league is really trying to find the space for all the kids,” league coach Alex Van Kovn said. “It’s really hard to absorb the influx of kids each year.”
The size of the AYSO league in Glendale — made up mostly of 8- to 12-year-olds — has grown from 3,000 in 2006 to about 3,600 now, soccer officials said.
While the league, which coordinates closely with the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, has done its best to absorb the increase through crafty scheduling and field rotations, 350 children had to sit out this season due to lack of resources, Mascheroni said.
“It’s criminal that that should happen,” he said.
At least $5.5 million has been recommended to develop “Parksite A,” a large swath of land off Fern Lane near the Glendale Sports Complex, for soccer use, but work there isn’t scheduled to start until 2010, parks Director George Chapjian said.
“It is a real need,” he said.
While his department has been trying to accommodate the league’s rapid growth, only so much can be done until it starts affecting other uses at shared fields — which handle the bulk of the city’s soccer use, Chapjian said.
AYSO officials agree that without a long-term strategy, the waiting lists will continue to grow.
Some relief could come this season with the reopening of the Scholl Canyon fields, which had been closed for site maintenance. And $3.5 million has been recommended for a new soccer field at Columbus Elementary School.
Parks and league officials said two more fields dedicated for soccer use would certainly alleviate the short-term problem, but at about $3.5 million a pop, competition for capital improvements fund is already tight.
Never before has the City Council taken eight months to settle on a capital improvement project budget, city executives say.
And while the mayor and others have hailed the process as being the most thorough examination of the city’s improvement needs, many in city government are anxious to finalize the list as a fresh round of fiscal year 2008-09 talks loom.
“I’m hoping that we will make the final decisions and go ahead and complete the process,” Councilman Frank Quintero said.
The City Council will consider finalizing the list of priorities during a special meeting at 2:30 p.m. today in council chambers, 613 E. Broadway.
JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.
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