FULLERTON : City Considers Drive to Finance Stadiums

The City Council has voted to hire a fund-raising expert to determine whether it is possible to raise about $6 million for a planned Cal State Fullerton sports complex.

The joint project by the city and university is about $2.4 million short of the $12.5 million needed to build the type of sports facility originally planned, City Councilman Richard C. Ackerman said.

If the consultant finds that a fund-raising effort would not raise enough money, the Titan Sports Complex will have to be scaled back to fit the $10.2-million budget approved by the city and university, said Sal Rinella, Cal State Fullerton’s vice president for administration.

The council hoped that contributions from the community would have paid the extra $2.4 million needed for the original plan and repaid the city for $3.5 million it contributed to the project last year after a study re-evaluated the cost of the project.

Originally, the sports complex was estimated to cost about $6.7 million.

If fund-raising is tried, the city and university probably will look for one or more large donors, Ackerman said.

“Our goal is to get a major donor to name the sports complex after,” he said. “I feel confident we’ll be able to raise the additional amount.”

The Fullerton council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, voted unanimously to pay $22,000 to hire the Robert B. Sharp Co. of Santa Ana to find likely donors and draft a proposal that would be submitted to them.

The city and university’s joint building committee are scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to make up a list of items that could be cut from the project if necessary, Rinella said. The list will be submitted to university President Jewel Plummer Cobb for her approval.

Possibilities include cutting back on concession booths, restrooms and a press box.

Construction of the Titan Sports Complex is scheduled to begin this summer and be finished in early 1992. Plans call for a 10,000-seat stadium for football and soccer, a 1,500-seat baseball stadium, a running track, 12 tennis courts and various service buildings.