Carson
brightens streets with development
By Ben D. Dimapindan
The On-line Forty-Niner
Commuters
heading down the 405 freeway toward Carson
see only looming light poles and large steel
beams as they gaze from their windows onto
a massive construction site on the Cal State
Dominguez Hills campus.
However, in less than a year’s time, those
same drivers will be visually struck by
more than just the skeleton of future edifices;
they will see a 27,000-seat soccer stadium
and a 13,000-seat tennis stadium — at least
that is how city of Carson officials envision
it.
"The sports complex does a number of things
for the city," Carson Mayor Daryl Sweeney
said. "First, it brings national prominence
to the city.
"Second, it brings residual economic development.
Hotels, retail stores, local businesses
will come in to support [the financial health]
of the area. Athletes need a place stay,
eat and shop. It really changes the face
of Carson and attracts visitors from all
over, making Carson a destination center."
The Home Depot National Training Center,
which also features an upgraded cycling
velodrome and track and fields, is being
built over an 85-acre property on the outskirts
of Cal State Dominguez Hillss. The center
will be the new home for the Los Angeles
Galaxy of Major League Soccer as well as
the training camp for the NFL’s San Diego
Chargers through 2008.
Home Depot paid $70 million to attach its
corporate trademark logo to the name of
the complex, Councilman Jim Dear said.
The soccer stadium is scheduled to open
June 1, 2003, while the tennis center is
scheduled for exactly one month later, and
things "are moving very rapidly" toward
completion after the groundbreaking this
past February, Dear said.
Also, billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose
company built Staples Center in downton
Los Angeles in 18 months, is erecting the
training center and funding the $130 million
operation completely.
"[Nothing will come from the taxpayers]
of Carson, and we’re just so happy to get
things underway," Mayor Pro Tempore Raunda
Frank said.
Coming from a community perspective, the
outlook has generally been positive about
training center and the local business that
it inevitably promotes.
"Of course," Carson resident Mara Calara
said, when asked if the complex would provide
a big economic boost for the city. "We are
all waiting for that, especially since the
Chargers are coming, and all of that translates
into big money for the city and for everyone."
Although the fiscal lift is expected, some
residents have voiced concerns over the
problems of turning the city into a bustling
metropolis for Southern Californians to
converge.
"A segment of the population is very concerned
about the traffic and pollution, and so
am I," Dear said. "I want to be sure that
those problems are mitigated."
In addition, the multimillion-dollar sports
complex is just one of a series of redevelopment
projects the city hopes will give Carson
a welcomed facelift and provide overall
improvement in condition.
Among the other proposed developmental plans
are the conversions of two Brownsfield,
or "environmentally challenged," areas that
were former landfills into potentially lucrative
businesses — a metro mall and "big box retail
stores" — to pump more revenue into the
community, Sweeney said.
For the recreation of local youths, the
city also contracted the construction of
a skate park at Veterans Park, priced at
$377,981.
Although Carson seems to be on a progressive
trend, some neighborhoods would benefit
greatly from the federal aid that Carson
is using to establish new attractions.
The neighborhood in most need of improvement,
according to Dear, is the 600-unit Scottsdale
Estates on Avalon Boulevard between Sepulveda
Boulevard and 223rd Street.
Scottsdale, a densely crowded gated
community, is often stigmatized for high
criminal activity, but assistance for raising
its condition is currently being addressed
by the council.
"I would like to see a housing authority
created," Dear said. "I really think it
would be wise for the city to invest in
cleaning up Scottsdale estates."
Carson citizens agree with the idea of allocating
sufficient aid to the areas of the city
that deserve it.
"Well, why shouldn’t those neighborhoods
receive some money?" said Calara, who lives
a few blocks away from Scottsdale. "If they
need the help, they should certainly get
it."
However, resolving specifically the Scottsdale
conflict is not as simple as most would
assume it to be, Sweeney said.
"There are legal and ownership stuff to
deal with first," Sweeney said. "It’s not
as easy as people think. The homeowners’
association there has issues with ownership
and bankruptcy. A lot needs to be done before
we can invest money into it.
Nonetheless, Sweeney said he believes areas
such as Scottsdale need the council’s attention
and deserve their assistance.
"[Scottsdale] definitely needs to be rehabilitated
externally," Sweeney said. "We have to deal
with the crime issue and try to organize
tenants around social issues. We want to
bring a sense of community there, and we
can’t do it with just paintbrushes and planting
flowers. We need to put back recreational
things like playgrounds and basketball courts.
"To have full-time police there is impossible…but
now we do have cops rolling through there
all the time."
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