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By Carmen Duarte
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
August 13, 2003

Aaron J. Latham / Staff
City Councilman José Ibarra wants the city to acquire this land in a trade so that it can build a soccer park that includes a neighborhood center.

A nine-acre parcel on the northeast corner of North First Avenue and East Limberlost Road could become a regional soccer park that includes a neighborhood center. Councilman José Ibarra is proposing that the owners of the land consider trading the $4 million property for a piece of city-owned property.

Ibarra plans to present the proposal to the City Council at its Sept. 8 meeting at 7:30 p.m. The regular meeting will be held at Downtown City Hall Council Chambers first-floor east, 255 W. Alameda St .

Tucson 's North and Northwest Sides are experiencing rapid growth, but city officials did not have the vision to acquire land for future parks, Ibarra said. "Now the North Side is landlocked for parks. We have so much density in apartments with lots of families and children. It is a high-stress and high-crime area. Police have been saying that it was headed that way for years," Ibarra said. "We need to provide facilities to give children something to do." But before the city can do anything about that, it needs land, he said, adding that discussions and input from area neighborhood associations will be part of the development if the land is acquired by the city.

"We're entertaining the idea," said Greg Wexler of Tucson , a managing general partner of the firm that owns the property. Wexler is project manager for the Wal-Mart, Kohl's department store and more than a dozen restaurants and retail stores planned at Interstate 10 and Cortaro Road in Marana.

"We are at the early stages of discussion. We'd like to look at a surplus property list from the city and see what is possible. We would be interested in maybe something Downtown for commercial interests or out on the East Side for residential interests," he said.

The nine acres are owned by a limited partnership of mostly foreign high-rise developers who live in Taiwan , Japan and China , Wexler said.  

The four long-established neighborhood associations that surround the vacant parcel are Limberlost, Campus Farm, Amphi and Richland Heights West. "I think most of the folks in our neighborhood would be in favor of a park rather than seeing commercial or residential use," said Carlos Nagel of the Limberlost Neighborhood Association.

"The sooner neighborhood people get involved in helping make a decision in one way or another, the more positive the outcome will be." The neighborhood includes many families that use Don Hummel Park , a small neighborhood park at North Fourth Avenue and East Limberlost Road , Nagel said. Ibarra said soccer associations have approached him over the past several years and asked for help in finding more fields for the growing sport. There are 585 soccer teams with 7,574 children, youth and adult players using city parks alone, he said.

Ibarra said he envisions the empty parcel holding up to five soccer fields in the first phase of construction, which would cost about $2 million, with groundbreaking starting this year. A second phase would begin within four years and possibly include an additional seven soccer fields and a three-story neighborhood center.

"I'd like to see the council commit $10 million to $12 million for a center to house programs for seniors, families and youths," Ibarra said. "I'd like to see recreational, educational and health-care activities for elders and families." The funding could come from bond money, Ibarra said. The city hopes to hold a bond election in 2005.

"This is great if it can be done," said Gloria Robles, a former area director of American Youth Soccer Organization, the largest soccer group in the Tucson area. It has 9,200 players, most between 8 and 12 years old. In addition to AYSO, there are numerous soccer club teams and school leagues that also use city fields.

Robles said AYSO uses all available North and Northwest Side parks and school fields for soccer, including schools in Marana, Oro Valley and near the community of Catalina. About 2,800 AYSO players live on the North and Northwest sides, Robles said. "We have wanted to get more parks out here for a long time because there are so many kids," she said. "We don't want to turn anyone away from our organization, but right now we are squeezing in kids wherever we can for practice and games."

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