The Carson Show

It was a sweltering August afternoon and the web of locker room tunnels that make up the basement of the Home Depot Center in Carson was buzzing with activity.

In a room down one hallway, Martina Navratilova stretched between matches at the JPMorgan Chase Open women’s tennis tournament, while James Lofton, recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and a San Diego Charger assistant coach, walked a bike back to his office.

Turn a corner and you bumped into two 300-pound Charger linemen on their way to lunch as they pass a room with Cobi Jones and a couple of his Galaxy teammates getting ready for their soccer game later in the day.

Welcome to the busy world of the Home Depot Center, where you can see an odd yet remarkable mix of world-class athletes go to work every day.

“This is incredible, so many sports in one facility,” Kim Clijsters, the No. 2-ranked player on the women’s tennis circuit, said after her first-round match last week. “It’s great to see all the other athletes and how they train and prepare for their seasons.”

The first event at the new complex was an invitational track and field meet, which drew a spirited crowd of 10,000 on June 1.

Except for a few big-time soccer matches, such as the Galaxy’s home opener June 7 and Mexico vs. El Salvador on July 6, the growing sports empire at the 125-acre complex located on the Cal State Dominguez Hills campus was kept under wraps for nearly two months.

But that began to change when the Chargers opened training camp July 22. With an NFL team practicing, meeting and eating on the grounds every day, the complex suddenly had a steady flow of activity. Then things really picked up:

* Lazio, a major professional soccer team from Italy, worked out at the facility for nearly two weeks on off-days during its American summer tour.

* The Dave Matthews Band held concerts in front of packed crowds July 26 and 27.

* The Major League Soccer All-Star game was played Aug. 2, and the Galaxy had two other games last week.

* The JPMorgan Chase Open began Monday and concludes today.

Then there are the numerous local minor sports organizations that take advantage of the facilities nearly every day. The same weekend of the Dave Matthews Band concerts, a youth girls’ soccer tournament staged more than 80 games in two days. And the Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. began using the grass field in the middle of the track and field complex as a training site last Sunday.

“There was considerable foresight on the part of the people who developed this place,” said Charger Coach Marty Schottenheimer, who has raved about the location since the start of training camp. “To be able to host as many events that they do and at the same time not have people falling all over each other is truly remarkable. I know that other events have been taking place, but there’s been nothing going on that’s been distracting to us.”

Maria Sharapova, a 16-year-old Russian tennis player, even put on shoulder pads and Doug Flutie’s No. 7 jersey and threw a few passes with the veteran quarterback after the Chargers’ afternoon workout Wednesday.

Later that evening, the complex had its first dual crowd experience, with a Galaxy game against the Fresno Fuego in the U.S. Open Cup and the JPMorgan Chase Open.

Lindsay Davenport’s match against Barbara Schett was interrupted more than once by roars from Galaxy fans cheering their team’s 3-1 victory.

“I heard the goals [and] the music,” Davenport said. “It was kind of crazy out there.”

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Developed and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, which also owns Staples Center, the Kings and Galaxy, the Home Depot Center is a $150-million privately funded sports playground, highlighted by a 27,000-seat soccer stadium and a tennis stadium that can seat 13,000.

The Galaxy is the complex’s main tenant, but the defending MLS champions are not alone.

The Home Depot Center has nine soccer fields, including one on artificial surface, and serves as the national training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation. It has 30 tennis courts, both hard and clay, and is the national training center for the U.S. Tennis Assn.; a world-class facility for USA Track & Field; beach volleyball capabilities for the AVP; and the ADT Event Center, home of the nation’s only indoor velodrome for USA Cycling, scheduled to open next summer. The complex also is designated as an official U.S. Olympic training site.

Once the ADT Center opens, organizers are considering adding full-time training programs for indoor volleyball, basketball, gymnastics and martial arts inside the velodrome.

“I don’t think that the concrete at the HDC ever really settles,” said Beth White, general manager of the Home Depot Center.

There’s more to come for owner Philip Anschutz’s pet project. The Women’s World Cup championship soccer game is scheduled for Oct. 12. A beach volleyball Olympic qualifier (to be played in a sand-filled tennis stadium) is set for Sept. 19-21. Then there are the 2004 World Junior Track Cycling Championships and the 2006 IAAF track and field World Cup.

Phase II, which could include a 200-room hotel/convention center and dormitory along with a fitness training center, could be finalized before the end of the year once AEG completes a few important stages in the approval process.

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The Carson facility may be viewed internationally as one of the world’s top sports complexes, but it still has a few critics.

After her first match this week, Navratilova said that the center was located “in the boonies” and needed trees. She also said that the JPMorgan Chase tournament drew better crowds in Manhattan Beach because it was closer to Los Angeles International Airport.

There have also been complaints from some nearby residents who are unhappy about additional traffic, especially on Avalon Boulevard on event days. But much of that grumbling came early when the kinks were being worked out.

“Most people didn’t know about the other options on how to get to the complex, and there was a backlog on Avalon,” said Ricardo Pulido, a member of Carson’s planning committee. “But that problem has been ironed out. The L.A. Sheriff’s Department has done a good job directing traffic, and it also helps that they’ve blocked off side streets except for local traffic on event days, plus they have controlled lights to keep the traffic flowing.”

The parking situation, however, can be confusing. Except on big event days, most of the available parking is self-pay. That has resulted in an increase in campus parking tickets, although that is expected to die down after more people learn about the rules at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Also, some local residents are upset because they thought they would have access to the entire facility, not just a three-mile jogging trail around the perimeter.

“I know that the university did receive some gripes and misgivings from some of our community members,” said Thomas Knox, senior media relations officer at Dominguez Hills. “That’s understandable because we’re introducing something totally new and almost radically new to the community. But as those neighbors become more familiar with what is going on here and realize the benefits the university and the surrounding communities themselves are receiving, I think they will become a lot more welcoming.”

Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, said the company expected some to oppose the facility initially and he’s pleased that complaints have dropped off over the last two weeks.

“I’m glad that people are noticing the facility that we have here,” Leiweke said. “There have been a few complaints about noise from a concert and a few about the traffic, but that’s it.”

Keith Anderson, a former Carson High football player, has attended several events at the complex, including a couple of Charger practices. He agrees with Leiweke.

“I attended the track meet, and that was a positive experience,” said Anderson, who lives within walking distance.

“What it really comes down to is that people are able to see what they’ve done compared to the empty lot that we had here before. People seem to be pretty happy with that.”

The Home Depot Center has even won over residents at Colony Cove senior mobile homes, which sit less than a mile away.

“I’ve lived in this mobile home park for 7 1/2 years, and I believe that the Home Depot Center is the best thing that has ever happened in Carson,” said John C. Goolsby, a retired building contractor who lives two blocks from the soccer stadium. “It’s put Carson on the map, provided outlets for our youth and provided entertainment.

“It also hasn’t disrupted our way of life. I spoke with other [neighbors] after the first [Galaxy] soccer game where they had a crowd of 27,000 people, and like me, they heard zero noise.... It’s really a technology miracle.”

One area in which the center may have to play a bigger role is with Cal State Dominguez Hills, which still owns 45 acres of the facility. The current agreement calls for the university to receive more than $500,000 annually in rent and a percentage of other fees generated by the facility.

But like other public institutions in California, the university is facing major budget problems. While the Home Depot Center seems to grow and sparkle more by the hour, the university is in recovery mode as the campus deals with the sports construction project that began April 1, 2002.

According to Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletic Director Ron Prettyman, the key is being able to see the big picture. For example, the school’s baseball, softball and basketball teams may have had to play nearly every game on the road for two years, but now they have new baseball and softball diamonds and a fresh gymnasium floor.

“We’ve had some new challenges and issues that we’ve never had to deal with before, but the positives far outweigh the negative,” Prettyman said. “But that happens with any partnership of this magnitude. There are always growing pains. There may be additional give and take on both sides, but in the long run, this is going to be a great partnership.”