Park district purchases 57-acre plot with intentions of building a youth football facility
Site located near Lost Canyons Country Club
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

Acorn photo courtesy Jim Keppler PLOT FOR PIGSKIN?- The site park district officials purchased last week to be the future home of Simi Valley youth football.

A permanent home for the Simi Valley Vikings youth football league was secured last week when the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District closed a $725,000 deal to acquire 57 acres of open space off Tapo Canyon Road.

According to Ed Hayduk, park district assistant general manager, the plan is to use about 10 acres of the site for two lighted regulationsize sport fields, concession and restroom buildings, a playground, basketball courts and a parking lot.

"That's the vision," Hayduk said. "We've got a long ways to go until we get there."

The park district completed purchase of the 57acre parcel of hillsides and flatland last Thursday. The land, which is near the proposed Lost Canyons golf course development, previously belonged to John Friedman of Marr Ranch I LLC.

"We have a lot of parks in Simi Valley, but we have a lack of quality active recreation fields," Hayduk said. "We've been looking for a site that's conducive to active recreation- one that's approvable and buildable. Specifically, we were trying to get additional athletic fields for Viking football."

The Simi Valley Vikings, currently in their 44th year of youth football and cheer, have never had a permanent place to play or practice.

John Skiffington, league president, said they pay about $30,000 a year to play on fields belonging to the Simi Valley Unified School District at Apollo High School. While the school district doesn't require the league to pay a field use fee, they are responsible for maintaining the grass and paying for all electricity and water usage, he said.

"The frustrating thing is that we've asked for a longterm agreement to use that field, but we don't have it," Skiffington said. "We have to go back every year to ask to use the property, and the result is we've been unable to make any investment in bringing the field up to standards."

More than 500 families in Simi, including Councilmember Steve Sojka and his 13-year-old son, are involved with the Vikings, which is one of two youth football leagues offered in Simi. The other is Simi Valley Patriots.

Sojka, who is a Vikings coach for the first time this year, and Councilmember Glen Becerra have worked together as liaisons between the league, the park district and the city.

"It's to the point where it's almost embarrassing to have families from other cities come to Apollo and play football," Sojka said. "It's just not a good representation of our city . . . half of one end zone is pure dirt."

An opportunity presented itself last year when Lost Canyons LLC submitted its pre-application to the city seeking to transform one of its two public golf courses into a 364home, highend residential development.

In order to get city approval, all developers, including Lost Canyons, must eventually agree to pay a certain amount of fees toward the park district, which can be paid monetarily or with donations of parkland.

Under this ordinance, the park district originally requested that Lost Canyons donate at least 6 acres of open space for active recreation. But after more thought, the park district suggested that the developer could pay its required fees by helping build a football complex nearby, Hayduk said.

If the Lost Canyons project gets approval from the city in upcoming months, Hayduk said, the park district will work directly with the developer to build the complex- which he estimates will cost about $4 million. Lost Canyons' park fees would be used to partially fund the project. The rest of the cost would come from sources such as special district allocations and private fundraising, Hayduk said.

If the Lost Canyons project is not approved, Hayduk said, the park district will still be committed to finding other ways to raise the money to build the proposed facility.

Councilmember Becerra said he's confident that the success of the project doesn't hinge on the success of Lost Canyons.

"From a personal standpoint, I am committed to helping fundraise and making this a reality," Becerra said. "Obviously there are other opportunities to raise the money. There are 500 families out there that want this to come together."

The concept for the football fields, Becerra said, mirrors that of Big Sky Park- a complex that was completed this past March to act as home for Simi Valley Girls Softball.

"What inspired my involvement in this was what we were able to accomplish on the girls' softball facilities," Becerra said. "We felt we really had to step it up for boy's football. Seeing what we accomplished at Big Sky, you can imagine where we want to take it."

Upon completion, the fields would also be open to the Simi Valley Patriots, who currently play all their home games at Grace Brethren School, Hayduk said. The park district also has some plans of integrating a lacrosse league during the spring.

The 57-acre site is on the north end of Tapo Canyon Road, about 100 yards before the turn-off into Lost Canyon Drive. The site is directly attached to 162 acres of additional open space that the park district acquired last year through a grant from the Santa Monica Conservancy.

Besides about 10 acres of developed land for the complex, the rest of the area will be left in its natural state with cut trails for hiking.

Hayduk said the timeline on the project depends on how fast the park district can raise the money, but he hopes the initial plan for the park will be complete within the next year.