Children and city council members kicked soccer balls and shoveled dirt as North Miami Beach broke g...

1. Boca Juniors break ground on North Miami Beach soccer
site
Children and city council members kicked soccer balls and shoveled dirt as North Miami Beach
broke ground on a new soccer training site last week.
The complex is coming to Mishcon Park, 16601 NE 15th Ave., after the plans were approved by the
council in February. The soccer training and management of the facility will be handled by the
Soccer Development Group and the internationally recognized Argentine soccer club Boca Juniors.
"This is the day when we bring world-class soccer to North Miami Beach," Mayor George Vallejo said
at Friday's ceremony.
The group also awarded scholarships to two students -- Sean Bah, 8, and Gabriel Hernandez, 7 -- to
attend the academy.
Sean's mother, Kisha Taylor, said it's a great opportunity for her son, who has been playing soccer
since he was 4.
"We're so happy that it's in our neighborhood and he can attend and play," Taylor said.
The group plans to award 20 scholarships for city
residents and the same number of scholarships
for summer camp students. The two groups of
scholarships are valued at a total of $24,000.
Boca Juniors and SDG have http://www.chop.edu/
also promised more than $2 million in
improvements to the park in the first year of the
agreement, and $50,000 in improvements to the
city's park facilities.
The agreement is initially for 10 years with two
additional five-year automatic renewals.
Daniel Rotsztain, SDG's president, said his group
expects the facility to be open by August. With all
of
http://golfweek.com/news/2009/nov/02/player-we
ek-sherlyn-popelka-arizona/ the false starts in
bringing a major league soccer team to South
Florida in recent years, he and his partners
thought North Miami Beach could be a good
place for Boca Juniors.

2. "It's a perfect location because it's too much for the other cities in the area like downtown Miami or
Aventura," Rotsztain said. "The most important thing is the vision of the mayor, the council and the
city staff."
The plans include building a site that will replace the soccer field with synthetic grass. The site will
also include http://terrance0burt02.yolasite.com/intriguingpoints a pro shop, and the group will
install new lighting and a security system.
City Manager Ana Garcia welcomed the improvements as not only a boon for the community's soccer
fans, but as an improvement to another open space in the city.
"They're going to light up a park that's normally dark at night," Garcia said. "Not only are they here
for their own mission, but they're giving back to the community."
The soccer park will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The field will be approved for use for multiple
soccer-related training, events and games along with birthday parties and other events, pending the
city manager's approval.