Other Than Cannabis - Sports Complex and St. Mary's Presidential Debate

While the cannabis ordinance will definitely fill the room with concerned citizens supporting one point of view or another at Wednesday night's City Council meeting, there are other items on the agenda that may also generate some interest, if not the level of controversy.

The first is a presentation by representatives of Universal Sports Academy (USA), one of two groups proposing an indoor sports complex at an empty warehouse near the waterfront, at 333 Ferry St. This group is proposing indoor softball and soccer in addition to other activities. Last month, another group proposed opening a series of basketball and volleyball courts, in addition to other activities in the building, which formerly housed a storage and moving company.

USA proposes to spend slightly more than $1 million on renovating the building, whereas the other group, California Sport Complex, has proposed a plan that would require $5 million. The council had concerns about CSC president Dan Middleton's plan to attract mostly league teams to the complex, at the expense of local teams and players. There was also concern about the cost of league play to lower income youngsters. USA has said it will keep its focus on attracting local teams and players.

Also on the agenda is an item supporting St. Mary's College in its bid to host in 2012 Presidential Debate. This is an item which leads Martinez Patch to ask the question of its readers: who do you think President Barack Obama will be debating at St. Mary's, should the school win its bid?