City Invites Developer to Proceed With Sportsplex

City officials on Wednesday invited a local developer to apply for a permit to build a 6,000-seat baseball stadium and a sprawling entertainment complex on 125 acres next to the Ventura Freeway.

But members of the City Council still have serious reservations about whether the project should be allowed so close to the Camarillo Airport.

“I’m worried about the safety issue,” said Mayor David M. Smith, who cast the lone vote against proceeding with the plan.

Developer Tim L. Wood last month approached City Manager Bill Little about building a $70-million, privately funded sports and entertainment center he calls Sportsplex.

In addition to the stadium, which would host a minor league baseball team, the project would include a professional ice-skating training complex, a health and fitness center, a water park, an indoor arena and dozens of retail shops and restaurants.

Wood said he hopes to build the complex in time for the spring 1998 baseball season.

“Because we have a formal commitment for financing, our investors hope that Sportsplex can begin construction as soon as possible,” Wood said in his March 30 letter to the city.

But the property that Wood wants to develop--125 acres south of the freeway and west of Las Posas Road--lies within the jurisdiction of the county Airport Land Use Commission.

Four council votes would be needed to override a finding by the commission that the proposed development is incompatible with airport operations.

City Planning Director Matthew A. Boden told council members Wednesday that the land-use panel might oppose the heavy concentration of people who would be visiting Sportsplex under an airport traffic pattern.

But Wood, who won a silver medal in figure skating in the 1968 Olympics, is undaunted. “It’s the most excellent location I could come up with,” he said.

Wood’s request comes as two other plans for minor league baseball stadiums are being proposed in western Ventura County.

John Hofer, whose family owns the Ventura Auto Center, is going forward with plans to develop Centerplex, a similar project that includes a stadium and other facilities.

Centerplex, which would rely on some public funding, could come before the Ventura City Council as soon as this spring.

Meanwhile, Oxnard developer Stanley Moorman has been saying for a year that he wants to build a ballpark in his city. Moorman, who said he already has a team lined up, has been silent on how he would pay for his stadium.

Camarillo Councilman Stanley J. Daily said Sportsplex would offer residents throughout the area new recreational opportunities.

“I personally like the idea,” he said. “That’s what a lot of our young people say is lacking here, something to do. This would certainly fill that void.”

Councilman Ken Gose also said he supports Wood’s plan. Gose has been fighting for a west Ventura County baseball stadium for three years.

“I just hope it can go through,” he said before Wednesday’s council meeting. “It would be a great thing for Camarillo and all of Southern California.”

Gose said he is not over-concerned with the proximity that Sportsplex would have to the Camarillo Airport.

“It’s an ideal spot,” Gose said. “It’s the best spot in southern California if the environmental and the airport studies work out.”

Once Wood applies to the city for permission to develop the stadium and its adjoining facilities, the planning and environmental review processes would begin.

An impact report could take a year or longer to complete, and the county Airport Land Use Commission would also be asked whether the project should be built so near the airport. Mayor Smith serves on the countywide land-use commission.