Reaction to proposed indoor sports complex mixed Meeting gauges public reaction to soccer fields, bowling alley BY JAY BODAS Correspondent Anew bowling alley and two soccer fields near the center of Metuchen are being proposed. Preliminary plans for an entertainment center containing these elements, to be located at 700 Middlesex Ave., were discussed at a Feb. 13 meeting of the borough's Recreation Commission. Developer Recycland LLC, based in Bethesda, Md., proposed building a bowling alley along with one or two soccer fields on the property. Each soccer field would be enclosed by a temporary bubble structure that would rise 40 to 50 feet in height during the winter season. It was proposed that one of the two fields would be built in the area of Vidas Field off Durham Avenue. The site also has an existing warehouse building that would be incorporated into the plans. The meeting allowed for informal discussion between the developers and members of the public at an early point in the development process. Neither an application nor a concept plan for the site has yet been filed with the borough's planning and zoning department. Recycland has managed the property since purchasing it in 1999, according to company cofounder Stuart Schooler, who represented the firm at the meeting. The company is a brownfields development firm and a subsidiary of the Maven Group, which offers real estate development and investment services, according to its Web site. Schooler said that the site was formerly used to make asbestoscontaining products such as roof tiles and brake pads, but that most of the asbestos was "nonfriable," meaning that the fibers are less likely to become airborne. "We started talking to the city about this site in February 1998," he said. "We buy contaminated sites, and this one had plenty of contamination history." Schooler said that Recycland had already done extensive cleanup of the site since purchasing the property and would ensure a complete cleanup as part of the redevelopment process. Also present were Greg Elliott and John Burns of SportsPlex, which manages sports facilities. They discussed how they planned to manage the proposed sports fields. "We are a management company that began in 1989," said Elliott. "We were looking around the country and saw many indoor soccer and basketball facilities, and our idea was to combine them both. If you go to many of our facilities, we have indoor field space and indoor courts." The company currently has facilities in operation in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. "In each of our facilities we have three indoor fields and three indoor courts, and the courts are side by side," Elliott said. "The facility we are planning on building here is essentially two fields and this court area." Elliott said that their peak season for business is in the winter. "Our business is very winter-oriented," he said. "We have an over-demand in winter and an under-demand in the spring and fall. From 5 p.m. to midnight is when most of the people who use the facility come in." Addressing safety concerns, Burns said that their facilities are very "tight on security." "There is not a big loitering issue at these facilities," Burns said. "This is not a hangout center for kids. Typically you are not going to have groups of kids coming into the facility to loiter. Either you're playing or involved in a class, or you're not in the building. That is just the way it is." "We also have 16 cameras throughout our facility, with parking lot and indoor cameras," he said. "We require all our league players to have an identification card. If you come in to play, and if there is an altercation or another issue… prior to each game, the referee collects your cards, and if you fight, you are banned from our facility and you will never set foot in our facility again. It is a very safe communityoriented facility." Responding to a suggestion by a Recreation Commission member, Schooler said they would also consider renting parking space to the borough for use by commuters during the day, given the projected light use of the facility during daylight hours. Several members of the public said they thought one bubble-enclosed soccer field was enough. "The Vidas park bubble I think is a bad idea," said resident JustinManley. "I don't know if you talked to anyone there, but the elevation is above the door level of the homes around it. I think it is far too close to those homes, but that is just my opinion. The second bubble is a good idea, as it would fit in better in that location. The property around it is much higher, so that bubble would actually be depressed and would be tucked in." Speaking out against the proposal was local developer and resident Jeff Josell, who presented preliminary plans at a Feb. 7 public meeting at Borough Hall for a competing indoor soccer field to be located on High Street. "I obviously have an interest in not seeing this happen," Josell said. "I am not concerned that [Schooler] won't do a nice job, but I am not sure if [Sportsplex] has done as much homework as they should have, as three-quarters of these facilities are going to fail. I am not doubting their competency, but our operators are New Jersey-based." Josell also questioned how the property's existing warehouse would tie in with the proposed uses. "Regarding the indoor facility, if you're not able to get a recreation tenant for the front, you might do a warehouse distribution, and I don't think that is a compatible use with the sports," he said. "I just don't think that's what we want for the center of town. If we are going to develop this as a warehousing facility, then why not all warehousing, and it doesn't interfere with my use."