Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Saugus Recreation Center Faces New Opening Delays

A Saugus recreation center expected to draw hundreds of people per day for miniature golf, batting cages, roller-skating and other games now faces additional delays to its already postponed opening.

Co-sponsors Skateland Enterprises and Mountasia Entertainment International first hoped to open the nine-acre “fun center” in November. The projection was changed to late this month as negotiations with a fast-food vendor stretched out.

Organizers now say they’re unsure whether the Northridge earthquake has added to the delay.

“We’re checking into all the implications of the earthquake,” said Dan Tebor, Mountasia vice president of creative services. “We want to see if there’s going to be a moratorium on concrete. We want to see if all the building materials will be available.”

A new timeline is expected to be announced in a few weeks, Tebor said.

As proposed, the $4.35-million recreation center off Golden Triangle Road will include an 18-hole miniature golf course, game room, bumper boats, batting cages, go-cart track and roller-skating rink.

The city’s low crime rate and high number of families attracted the sponsors, and Santa Clarita officials believe that the site will provide youths with activities to occupy their time.

Skateland officials have predicted that 300 to 1,000 people will use the center daily.

The facility may help reduce drag-racing, graffiti or other vandalism that occurs when youths are bored, according to local law enforcement officials.

Graffiti incidents are believed to have dropped in Santa Clarita from the same time last year.

An average of 40 to 50 reports of graffiti have come in monthly to the city’s volunteer cleanup hot line since August, down from 120 calls per month during a similar period the year before.