Come 2010, horse racing would head for the suburbs, and soccer would claim the throne at Rillito Racetrack.
That's the recommendation of an advisory committee made up of representatives of youth sports and horse racing.
The proposal, which has many hurdles to clear, calls for horse racing to move to Marana, possibly to the site of a proposed Western Heritage Park that would also include other equestrian events.
The old grandstand at Rillito, 4502 N. First Ave., would be torn down to make way for 18 new lighted soccer fields, in addition to the six already there and two fields in planning.
In a separate but related move, the city plans to use $5.5 million from its 2004 bonds to buy five acres north of the track and build a community center there.
The money was supposed to go for a regional park on the North Side. But the city couldn't find enough land. Now the community center will be part of the park complex.
The proposal still needs Board of Supervisors approval, and it's not funded.
But the recommendation marks the end of an impasse that pitted history and horses against soccer-playing kids desperate for more field space.
"This committee was not set up with everyone coming in with the same idea," said Gary Davidson, a parks commissioner and committee chairman. "You had very diverse interests."
Davidson sought a unanimous vote. "A split vote would have thrown it back where we started," he said.
Ed Moore, a former Pima County supervisor and fierce advocate of horse racing, said he supported the recommendation, though he wasn't at the meeting last week when the committee voted.
"Rillito is a part of early Tucson history, and we keep tearing down our early history," Moore said. "But everybody loses if we don't cooperate."
That unanimous vote took some arm-twisting.
Patricia White, general manager and director of racing at Rillito, said she went to the meeting last week with every intention of voting no, then changed her mind.
A 1984 referendum protects horse racing at the historic track until 2010, but the supervisors have refused to pay for repairs to the grandstand, except the bare minimum to keep it safe. Without help from the county, the track could not afford to move.
"If we didn't go for the Marana deal, we were done," White said. "And the Marana deal looks good on paper."
After 20 years of fighting to keep racing at Rillito, she has mixed feelings now. White said she worries racing will have nowhere to go when 2010 comes.
Marana doesn't own the land for its proposed Western Heritage Park and doesn't even know where it will be.
Funding for the new track β and for the soccer fields β depends on a future bond package.
She also expects attendance to drop off, with fewer people coming on foot or by bus.
And that's not to mention the loss of the first racetrack in the country devoted to quarter-horse racing.
"I will hate to see it move to Marana," she said. "But I guess that's progress. They want us out, and they want soccer in."
But Moore said he has confidence Marana will build its Western Heritage Park, and joining forces will save money.
One of the most expensive parts of a racetrack is the stalls for the horses; the Western Heritage Park will have hundreds.
Moore and Davidson said Marana is a better location for horse racing than the Pima County Fairgrounds, which was another alternative.
And the need for more soccer fields is at a "crisis point," Davidson said.
Parents who spend their nights and weekends schlepping their kids to soccer practice welcomed the recommendation.
"There was an awful lot of musical chairs, and our team wasn't the only one," said Bob Lee, whose 14-year-old daughter sometimes practices at Rillito.
Lee said the county needs more lighted soccer fields and a large soccer complex that can host tournaments.
Also, the preparations for the horse-racing season there interfered with practices.
It was time for racing to go, he said. "There's an economic reality here that has to prevail," he said. "It is a large area that is not being used except for a short time every year."
Supervisor Ann Day, whose district includes the park, and County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said they support the recommendation.
"There is such a need for lit fields, and it's a great location," Day said. "It seems to have solved the problem."
They don't know yet how much it will cost to develop the new soccer fields and build a new track in Marana. White said a new racetrack could cost as much as $20 million.
Even if voters approve the bonds in 2008, getting everything built by 2010 would be "tight," Huckelberry said.
If all the pieces are in place, though, he said the county might delay the demolition of the grandstand.
