Hometown Newspaper of Valley Center, Pauma Valley, Pala, Palomar Mountain & North Escondido since 1974

By David Ross | on August 10, 2022

A view of the field on MacTan Road where proponents would like to create the Better Sports Complex.

Brian Dragoo and Angela Hill hope to bring their Better Sports Complex to Valley Center. Their motto is “Better Athletes = Better Humans.” 

Hill explained the motto: “Kids involved in sports have a better base, a better support foundation. It keeps them out of trouble and helps them become better humans, while giving them communication and leadership skills.”

The complex would be located on currently vacant land zoned for agriculture, nine acres at 28548 MacTan Rd., they are leasing, a parcel surrounded by nurseries and horse farms.

The complex is controversial. There are questions, also, about whether the couple is following County procedures for opening such a facility.

The proposed Better Sports Complex would feature two soccer fields, to start, two futsal fields—futsal is soccer played on a harder surface—and two to four pickleball courts. They will also offer a new game, teqball, which is a hybrid of soccer, volleyball and ping-pong, played on a pink curved table, but with a larger ball.

“Our goal is to have leagues and multi-surfaces for players to play on ,” said Dragoo, managing partner and CEO of the company. “We also hope to have beach soccer later on, and hopefully turf fields for soccer and also outdoor regulation soccer fields.”

They will have memberships. Players will required to have memberships and sign appropriate waivers and clearances before they can play on the fields. They will offer leagues, tournaments, clinics, camps and skills training on the fields. All ages will use the fields, from ages 4-80.

Brian Dragoo and Angela Hill of the Better Sports Complex.

Some neighboring property owners have objected to the assertions by Dragoo and Hill that they can put in the sports complex without jumping through several permitting hoops first.

Valley Center Community Planning Group Chairman Delores Chavez-Harmes told The Roadrunner: “We have not received anything from the County on this project yet.” 

The Roadrunner also contacted Keith Robertson, chairman of the Valley Center Design Review Board to see if the project is scheduled to be reviewed. He wrote: “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I get notification from the County first but have not received anything.” Robertson continued, “If you look at their website, they indicate that this is a done deal and opening next month. They also claim to have an existing facility on Old Castle Road where the deli burned down several years ago. Something seems wrong here.”

The Roadrunner also contacted the county Department of Planning & Development Services. Gig Conaughton, speaking for the department, replied: “PDS has not received any applications. We have seen the proponent’s website and we plan to reach out to speak with them to get a better idea of what they would apply for. We would be able to give you more information after that conversation.”

Dragoo told The Roadrunner, “I put the request in for the Design Review Board to present to them. Hopefully that will happen September. We do have to talk to the planning group, but we don’t need to have any kinds of special permits for the fields. We can put them in because they prefabricated.”

Special permits won’t be needed, said Hill, because the “fields” are manufactured in Boise, Idaho by a company called Urban Soccer Park. “We bring it here and we install it so that it sits on top of the land,” she said. “If we ever wanted to move we could uninstall it and move it within a week. It’s a new concept. Everything is modular. They call them mini-pitch systems.”

Urban Soccer Park’s website explains the concept: “Urban Soccer Park is on a mission to bring accessible, quality five-a-side soccer fields to every community across the nation. We design, manufacture and install professional-grade soccer and futsal courts, which are fun for all ages and tailored to your budget and size requirements. With our unique modular fields, we dramatically cut down on construction costs and empower schools, soccer clubs, homeowners, developers, entrepreneurs and many others around the country to build the soccer field of their dreams.”

An Urban Soccer Park manufactured soccer field of the type that the Better Sports Complex hopes to bring to Valley Center.

Hill added, “Everything is being assembled and being shipped over. They bring them in big containers. It’s a field in a box. It takes 4-5 days to install one field. We will probably be opened by September. The supply chain could affect that. Half of our futsal tiles are on a container in the ocean right now.” Hill continued, “We probably have 80 percent of what we need to install, because the rest is on a ship coming from China we don’t have control over all of our materials. That affects our ability to predict when we will open.”

Asked to expand on his statement that he applied to appear before the DRB, Dragoo said, “The DRB has a check list and we filled out everything. I’ve been talking to  the County Planning department.” That would seem to conflict with what DRB Chairman Robertson wrote.

Asked to address neighborhood concerns on lights pollution, Dragoo said, “There will be lights at night, but they are dark sky certified. The company has performed a light study. They only produce light one foot outside of the base. So it won’t interfere with neighbors and wildlife.”

Chairman Chavez-Harmes commented, “They wouldn’t be able to legally go forward with the lights before going before the Design Review Board.” She added, “If he goes forward without the required permits it will be a detriment to him because it will be a loss on his return of investment. Nothing gets built around here without permits.”

She continued, “If he doesn’t have to have permits, why did he call me three times asking about permits? Asking what does he need to do and how does the process work? I took the time and explained to him in detail. He made three phone calls to VCCPG to find out what the process is and he was told he needed to contact the County, and apply for a permit.”

What about noise? “We don’t think there should be that much noise, aside from whistles and players talking to each other,” said Dragoo. “There won’t be mass amounts of people to produce that kind of noise. We will have small bleachers for spectators for maybe 75 people at any one time.”

Assuming the sports complex does get its required permits, don’t expect to see it completed right away. Hill said, “We will build everything gradually. To start we will have two fields and see how that goes. Then have an adjustment before we build out more. One turf field and one futsal field.” One reason they chose the MacTan location was because it is not located near homes, she said.

Dragoo has a strong background in soccer. “I have been involved in it since I was 10. It’s been a passion of mine,” he told The Roadrunner. He played soccer as a child for a recreation club and club soccer. He got a scholarship to play at the University of Denver, and then played professionally for Mexico and the Netherlands for two and a half years. After his professional career Dragoo became a national a licensed coach. “We want to bring soccer and outdoor activities to the community and help develop future young players and keep everyone active and let them enjoy the game of soccer and futsal like we do,” he said.

Hill added, “Typically fields and sports complexes for club soccer, which is competitive soccer, are along I-5 or 90 minutes north in Riverside in Norco and the Silver Lake Community. Our dream is to build five sports complexes along I-15 from Chula Vista to Murrieta and make soccer more accessible to families in those areas. Valley Center is our first location. We are hoping for that to be the hub for four or five additional locations.”

Dragoo added, “Feedback on Facebook has been very well received. People are very excited. There have been questions but we have addressed the questions. Everyone is pretty excited about us coming to Valley Center.”

Hill said, “It’s important to note that Brian has not only won national tournaments as a player but as a coach [on club soccer they have state champions and national champions.]” He won one state championship for playing, one for coaching and two national championships—one for playing and one for coaching in Colorado and California. He is working with the Ramona Rebels North as a technical director of coaching. 

Dragoo said, “I’ve seen how sports can help kids in other situations to become better people. A way to escape their normal surroundings. It’s a safe space.”

Hill explained, “Brian has very strong passion for soccer as a player and as a coach. Because of that love of soccer he wants to make sure it is accessible for all kids and communities, no matter income or geographic location.” To that end they are starting a nonprofit called the Angel Athletic Fund. Its goal is to provide funding for talented low income athletes to help pay club fees. 

“What we’ve seen is there are so many kids who are talented but at a certain level they can’t proceed because of the club fees,” said Hill.

“We’re very excited,” concluded Dragoo. “Valley Center has been very welcoming.” 

For more information, email brian@bettersportscomplex.com  call 760-750-0898 or visit  bettersportscomplex.com and also find them on Facebook and Instagram.

I don’t believe there’s no light pollution. Additional traffic is going to impact the area. This just smCks od being a very bad idea. And I believe it’s being tried here because it is a small community and they hope to slide it through under our noses and/or behind our backs. Send those containers back to China.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Our Hometown DMCA Notices Newspaper web site content management software and services