Whatever Happened To Elk Grove's Proposed Baseball Complex?

September 8, 2014 | About two-and-a-half years ago, Elk Grove was on the verge of constructing a baseball complex. As part of that proc...

September 8, 2014 |

About two-and-a-half years ago, Elk Grove was on the verge of constructing a baseball complex. As part of that process, an official town hall meeting was held to gather citizen's input on May 4, 2011.

Here is a link to a story on that meeting.

In Early 2012, it seemed a pretty good bet that the city would pursue the baseball complex. So high was the confidence, then mayor Jim Cooper mentioned it in the state of city address given on March 30, 2012.
Sportsplex USA president Bill Berghoff
at the May, 2011 town hall meeting 

Since that time, not only was the baseball complex moved to the back burner, it has been taken completely off the stove.

In its place is the city's $50 million proposed aquatics center, which will be discussed this Wednesday night at the regular meeting of the Elk Grove City Council.

So why the change of plans?



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9 comments

Anonymous said...

Yep, if the city council had only followed through on this complex, we could be booking tournaments as we speak and bringing in sales tax revenue which seems to drive their decisions these days, or does it really?

But instead the city council spent the last year on more important and pressing items, such as the sign ordinance, which they believe is going to be the end all be all for Elk Grove in sales tax revenue.

After all, Gil Moore and his McDonalds were more important than the 60,000 children who play youth sports in Elk Grove. Or is it that the 60,000 children couldn't pony up upwards to $40,000 in campaign contributions and $10,000 to Fittest of Elk Grove?

Anonymous said...

The city is wasting time on all these studies and half-starts. If they had made realistic goals, we could have had either competitive soccer fields or a baseball complex. Instead we are being held hostage to their egos, and still no fields for our kids!

Anonymous said...

Elk Grove is a like a slow motion train wreck!

Anonymous said...

As someone who attended many of the meetings here in regards to this and others mentioned, it always amazed me how they turned into something else entirely. The soccer fields & baseball complex turned into a MLS complex with the other in the background, an Aquatics Complex turned into an OLYMPIC Aquatics Complex with a Water playground. And what do we have...NOTHING! Our children are still waiting in the wings for a place to play their sports and a pool so they don't have to travel so far. Much like SEPA that many of us attended with our ideas and the end result was never seen again...all worked out behind closed doors.

City Council chambers used to be filled with people during meetings...citizens interested in what was going on in their community and with the feeling they were welcomed to their house. Now...not so much. The house is empty now unless there is an award of some kind for our young people. Sometimes speakers even get "the roll of the eyes" by a council member.

I keep wondering how this happened under the peoples watch and "one" reason I came up with was the change in the economy. Before, the council needed our fundraisers and support, but when the economy picked up the developers came and contributed to their coffers, so they no longer needed the community and we were turned away from our house for bigger rewards...$$$. That also resulted in our electeds buying into their grandiose ideas...entering an area of which they had no experience, except maybe for one!

That leaves the $6.M land we purchased with borrowed money and the $1.M Railway property...another story altogether! Just my 2 cents......

Connie Conley said...

This is one project the Elk Grove City Council needs to complete and now. They have the opportunity at tomorrow night's council meeting to dial it back to the beginning and it starts with the youth sports complex.

The Council needs to follow through on this project promised years ago. This short term goal is very doable; one that is tangible and the community could see results in less than a year.

Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right, but will they have the guts to dial it back? That's tantamount to saying they took the wrong route and should have listened to the people. Guess we'll see tomorrow night.....

John C. Maxwell said...

"A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them."

Anonymous said...

Exactly what should happen, but I think they've placed themselves in a position between a rock and a hard place. That being building the sports complex on the recently purchased land with hopes of getting the MLS. My problem with that area is placing our children on land that is within a mile..as the crow flies, of the Propane Tanks. I'm not even sure that the MLS might not have a problem with that.

Anonymous said...

Good Question. Elk Grove has very good baseball/softball teams and a world class facility is a sure bet to get tax dollars flowing.

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