MISSION VIEJO : City May Try to Lure U.S. Soccer Team

Residents might share in the hoopla over the nation’s hosting of the next World Cup soccer competition if the city follows through on plans to persuade the United States team to train here.

Under a proposal by Councilman William S. Craycraft, the national squad would work out at Lower Oso Viejo Park for about 18 months while getting ready for the 1994 World Cup. The City Council on Monday appointed a task force to study the feasibility of Craycraft’s proposal.

The plan was strongly backed by about a dozen residents who stayed until about 11 p.m. to speak in favor of the proposal.

Supporters said the city would reap a financial and public relations windfall from the international attention that would be drawn by the national team, and local athletes would benefit from the presence of the country’s top soccer players, said Mike Dunn of Mission Viejo.

“I’m very much in favor of having this,” he said. “We liked the atmosphere of (the) 1984 Olympics. We’d like to bring it back here.” Mission Viejo hosted portions of the cycling competition during the 1984 summer games.

However, with the number of athletic fields greatly outnumbered by sports leagues clamoring for a home, the city’s youth soccer programs have expressed concern over losing the Lower Oso fields to the national team.

League officials have asked that a proposed multi-field facility near Olympiad Road and Alicia Parkway be completed before the national team comes to town.