Field(s) of dreams

Envisioning facilities and amenities for youth sports that serve as a magnet for tourism and economic development, the nonprofit Everybody, Healthy Body (EBHB) pitched a Chico sports complex Monday afternoon (June 26) to 75 stakeholders at Lakeside Pavilion.

Members of the group said they have a purchase agreement in place through 2017 for 264 acres between Skyway and Highway 99 at $1.6 million—about $6,060 per acre, a fraction of local land cost. The complex, which the group would not own or operate, would be built in phases. Members told the CN&R that funding would come via “private-public partnerships” but not bonds nor from city or county coffers.

Jovanni Tricerri (pictured) is project coordinator for EBHB, which has retained a Baltimore-based fields firm, Sports Force, for initial studies. The nonprofit’s initial fundraising push is $150,000.