Get out your pencils........

By Edward HusarHerald-Whig Staff Writer

Jeff Jansen, executive director, told the Quincy Civic Center Authority's governing board Wednesday that he has received many inquiries asking if the center would consider offering indoor soccer again.

K&L Arena's sparkling new facility at the north end of Quincy drew many teams that previously played at the Oakley-Lindsay Center, prompting the OLC to cancel its own fall and winter soccer seasons because of a lack of participation. The OLC first introduced its indoor soccer leagues in 1996.

Jansen said he plans to explore what it would cost to buy a new playing surface for the larger, original field at the OLC that would be as good, if not better, than the playing surface used at K&L Arena's two fields.

Civic Center Authority members say they would want assurances that indoor soccer would be profitable before they sink any money into such a venture.

"We're basically out of the soccer business now," said board member Tony Sassen. "For us to go back into it," he said, it had better be worth the effort and cost.

Board member Hubert Staff agreed.

"Before we make any real investment, we want to make sure we have a business model that shows there is actually money to be made," he said.

Jansen said he received calls from several representatives of a local soccer organization who expressed a desire to play indoors at the OLC next fall. He said 15 to 20 other people also called in the past month to say they want to bring their teams back to the OLC.

The playing surface on the original field, Jansen said, is now about nine years old and in need of replacement. A slightly smaller field to the north was added about three years ago, and that surface is still in pretty good shape, he said.

Charlie Doan asked if Jansen could estimate what it would cost to buy a new playing surface for the larger field.

Jansen said he hasn't yet investigated the matter in depth, but he thinks a high-qualify playing field would cost somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000.

"I don't know all the answers right now, but I want to make sure that the board is aware that there's been a lot of phone calls," Jansen said.

He plans to bring better cost estimates to the board's March meeting. Jansen said decisions will have to be made fairly quickly, because the board needs to have its 2006-07 budget nailed down by April.