Sports DIGEST : Lazers Make Move on Sherman Oaks

The Los Angeles Lazers are moving the majority of their office staff to Sherman Oaks and would like to have a practice facility in the Valley as well before the start of next season, a team spokesman said Thursday.

The team also will operate a retail store in the Sherman Oaks Galleria to sell Lazers tickets, clothes and soccer equipment.

The club, formed three years ago to play in the Major Indoor Soccer League, is owned by Jerry Buss and plays in the Forum. The team practices in Orange, 65 miles from the Inglewood arena.

“We believe we can do better in terms of exposing the Lazers,” said Ron Weinstein, vice president of operations. “The Lazers are in a growth period where we have to reach out to the community.”

He said surveys at home games this season revealed 33% of the crowd had come from the Valley. Most were soccer-playing children, aged 10 to 19, and their parents, aged 35 to 45.

Club officials have had discussions with Los Angeles Parks and Recreations Department officials and private investors about several possible sites for the practice facility in the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area. Under the Lazers’ plan, the proposed structure would also be used for youth soccer leagues and camps.

McMullen Group Gets 15-Day Extension

Stadium promoter Ken McMullen and his partners have received a 15-day extension on their option to purchase a minor league baseball franchise. Along with their recently formed steering committee, the three have begun to circulate petitions in the Camarillo area to persuade the City Council to reconsider its rejection of funding for the stadium project.

McMullen, Jim Colborn and Jim Biby have until May 15 to exercise their option to buy a Class-A minor league franchise based in Lodi and move it to Ventura County for the 1986 season.

The group was forced to ask for the extension when the Camarillo City Council voted 4-1 on April 24 against a proposal to provide $750,000 to help build a stadium at Freedom Park.

The group has also approached Oxnard concerning a possible stadium site in that city, but could not reach an agreement with officials there.

“If the petition response is strong enough by next Tuesday’s meeting, I think we will be able to change some minds,” Biby said Thursday. “If we have to, we will buy the club and operate it in Lodi for a year until we have a facility here.”

McMullen’s group also has been approached by two private investors concerning the possibility of donations of land for a stadium. But Biby said he and his partners have not made any deals yet with either group.

Ventura Special Olympics on Saturday

The 1985 Ventura County Special Olympics Gymnastics Championships will be held Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Imagymnation Gymnastics Center in Simi Valley.

The event will feature 35 youngsters competing on the balance beam, uneven parallel bars, floor exercise, pommel horse and rings.

Information: 584-8872.