Heat Still Vacillating Over Site for Games

The Los Angeles Heat has not decided where it will play in 1991, although it has submitted a list of possible game dates to the American Professional Soccer League West.

The league deadline for teams to submit information on playing sites, dates and $6,000 in annual fees is today. The APSL season will run from May to October next year.

A Heat spokesman said the team has narrowed its choices to El Camino College in Torrance and Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

However, it appears that new Heat General Manager Dick White has made little progress in securing either facility.

Arlene Cabalo, a spokeswoman for Murdock Stadium at El Camino, said White phoned to “inquire about certain dates” several weeks ago, but she has not heard anything since. Cabalo said the Heat would have to write a formal letter asking to rent Murdock Stadium and then sign a contract before game dates could be set up. The process would take about six weeks, she said.

Veterans Stadium Manager Randy Scottini said he has never been contacted by White, but added: “I like the Heat. I would like to have them in here.”

Heat President John Ajemian initially wanted to move the team to Orange County but relented when no suitable stadium could be found.

He said a majority of team owners believe that Veterans Stadium, where the Heat drew an announced crowd of 3,500 to an APSL championship game in September, is the best place to play.

Ajemian said he had hoped to announce today where the team would play because other pressing matters, such as deciding who will coach the team, need more attention.

White, who was on a golf outing Wednesday and unavailable for comment, is a member of the board of directors of an El Camino College fund-raising organization. A source said White has approached college administrators about receiving a reduced rate as well as guaranteed dates for the use of Murdock Stadium.

Cabalo said El Camino would rent the stadium for $4,100 per game. Scottini said Veterans Stadium, which has a license to sell beer, would cost about $2,200 a game.

A complication has arisen in renting the Long Beach facility, however. Long Beach City College, which owns Veterans Stadium, is scheduled to begin building an all-weather track around the playing field in February. Construction could take as long as four months, Athletic Director Chuck McFerrin said.

“I’m not sure we would feel comfortable letting (the Heat) in before June or July,” he said.