Delay of games: Sterling multiplex hits annexation snag

STERLING – Construction of a planned sports multiplex in Sterling did not start as planned this summer.

The 20.2-acre private multiplex at the northeast corner of Oak Grove and West 23rd Street in Sterling has hit snags that likely will delay construction until next year.

Work, which was supposed to have started in June and been done in time for the fall football season, now can’t begin until issues are resolved on annexation of the property into city limits, developer Larry Ybarra said.

Ybarra, a former Newman Central Catholic High School baseball coach, plans to build a $2.5 million to $3 million facility with a football field surrounded by an eight-lane track, soccer fields, and a stadium that would seat 4,500.

He has said he would like the facility to draw soccer tournaments, football and soccer camps, even marching band contests. He also would like to see softball brought to the area, and hopes later to build a baseball complex on the north side of Lynn Boulevard.

The Sterling City Council approved annexation in May.

Last month, organizers realized the ordinance didn’t include both parcels of the development.

Ybarra hopes to avoid going through the 90-day annexation process again, but building and zoning services coordinator Mike Wolber said he must; it’s required by state law.

The process requires a 15-day notice period and a public hearing before the Plan Commission and the City Council vote.

Ybarra, of Sterling, has been working on this project for more than 4 years, he said, and he’s not about to give up.

“I have enough patience, and I can wait it out if I have to,” he said. “I still think this is a viable thing for the city and the kids.”

In Dixon, just less than a year ago, the park district, the Dixon Family YMCA, the school district and local businesses were tossing around the idea of building an indoor sports complex to benefit the community.

It would solve space issues for the YMCA and provide new practice area for team from the school and park district.

The idea never went any further.

Eleven months later, YMCA Executive Director Andy McFarlane said the issue is the economy.

“We probably need to get that group back together again, but I think what the biggest stumbling block has just been is the economy has been so bad and so negative,” he said. “We’re all in position where we’re just trying to stick to what’s core.”

Besides funding its normal operations, the Dixon Y also is buying two properties on the other side of East Boyd Street, which it has turned into additional parking.

There are myriad other issues that organizers would have to tackle, too. The facility would be shared space, but who would operate it? What would it include?

In September, the Park District offered land for a possible location, Executive Director Deb Carey said.

There’s plenty of precedent for the Park District letting other organizations build on its land, including the Al Morrison baseball diamond and the building for concessions and storage for the YMCA’s youth soccer program.

No concerns have been addressed, though, because talks have stalled.

“Quite honestly, I think it’s just gotten to the point, so into the daily operations, that we haven’t lost sight of it,,” McFarlane said. “It’s just been put on a back burner.”