35,000 expected for Valley soccer matches

Tickets, including loft seating, are still available for a week's worth of soccer matches this month at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Copa PanAmericana soccer tournament, featuring some of Latin America's most popular teams, runs July 16 through July 22.

So far, stadium officials say, the hot ticket is Friday night's match between Mexico's Club America and Argentina's Boca Juniors, which last month won the Copa Libertadores title, Latin America's biggest club competition.

The football dome, also built to soccer specifications, has built momentum in hosting soccer matches, bringing in about 35,000 spectators in October when Club America took on Chivas de Guadalajara. When the U.S. and Mexican national teams met at the Glendale venue four months later, a sold-out crowd of 62,462 broke state soccer attendance records.

Officials with Global Spectrum, the company that books stadium events, aren't expecting sellout crowds. “These are club teams. They're not the national teams,” spokesman Scott Norton said.

Still, he's expecting about 35,000 fans each night of the tournament.

The event features doubleheaders on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with the top two teams facing off on Sunday.

Ticket prices range from $25 a night to $70 with discounts for those buying tickets to all four days. Those tickets are available at the stadium ticket office or through Ticketmaster at (480) 784-4444 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Groups of soccer fans interested in renting luxury suites can call (623) 433-7108 or e-mail snorton@universityofphoenixstadium.com.

The suites cost $70 per ticket, with VIP parking tossed in. The catch is the luxury seating must be bought in bulk to fill the suite.

A party suite requires the purchase of 124 tickets. Stadium lofts require the purchase of 16 to 24 tickets, and field boxes require the purchase of eight tickets.

The schedule of the matches is as follows:
July 16 Group 1, Boca Juniors (Argentina) vs. Alianza Lima (Peru) at 6 p.m. Group 2, Cruz Azul (Mexico) vs. Deportivo Cali (Colombia) 8 p.m.
July 18 Group 1, Club América (Mexico) vs. Alianza Lima (Peru) at 6p.m. Group 2, Cruz Azul (Mexico) vs. Caracas (Venezuela) 8 p.m.
July 20 Group 1, Club América (Mexico) vs. Boca Juniors (Argentina) at 6 p.m. Group 2, Deportivo Cali (Colombia) vs. Caracas (Venezuela) at 8 p.m.
July 22 Group 1 winner vs. Group 2 winner in championship game at 4 p.m.

By Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic

Reach 11 Soccer Complex

Sports complex has 10 soccer fields

The first phase of the Reach 11 Sports Complex, 2425 E. Deer Valley Road, is completed and ready to use. This part of the two-phase project involved building 10 lighted soccer fields, two playground areas and 1,200 parking spaces. The second phase, scheduled to be finished by fall 2008, will add 10 soccer fields and, with the necessary funding, a 4,000-seat stadium and an all-weather running track. In addition to the grand-opening ceremony, which will include a ribbon cutting by Mayor Phil Gordon, there will be Inaugural Games at 6:30 p.m.

"Some of these (soccer) tournaments are so big, they're using multiple fields, and teams are having to travel from one facility to another," Harman said. "Tournament organizers really like to have things in one place." Chris Diana, president of SC del Sol, said Reach 11 is one of the best complexes he has ever seen. "I've been to a lot of different tournaments here in Arizona, but the (Reach 11) fields are great, Diana said.

"They are just the perfect size, perfect dimensions, they're lined up great. And the parking couldn't have been designed better because there is parking all along the different fields."
Source: The Arizona Republic

Work on Big League Dreams behind schedule

Gilbert is about two months behind the original schedule of the Big League Dreams sports complex. Difficulties obtaining materials and design changes, including expanding the size of the restaurants and installation of additional safety nets, have extended the time needed to complete the project, said Paul Mood, Gilbert's capital projects administrator.The town is constructing the sports complex at a maximum cost of $33.6 million.

Big League Dreams USA LLC will handle maintenance and operations . Gilbert, which expects to get between $500,000 and $1 million annually from the facility, is required to have the park substantially complete by Nov. 30 as part of a maintenance and operations agreement with the company.

"We're going to meet our contractual obligations to Big League Dreams," Mood said. Gilbert's Big League Dreams complex, near Recker and Elliot roads, will host adult league, youth baseball and softball games, tournaments and clinics.

The facility will have eight ball fields, model after big league parks such as Chase Field and Wrigley Field . Workers started laying sod for the ball fields this week, Mood said.
Plans also call for a 24,000-square-foot indoor arena for soccer and community events. A corporate event area and an eight-station batting cage are also planned. Substantial completion of the complex, which would allow for Big League Dreams to start using it, is expected in early October, Mood said. There could still be minor items to correct then, he added..

Completion of the facility is scheduled for November. Big League Dreams would need to have access to the complext by the first week of October to be able run leagues in 2007, said Jeff Odekirk, chief operating officer of Chino Hills, Calif.-based company.

By David van den Berg
The Arizona Republic


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