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Starfire Sports is a sporting facility in Tukwila, Washington, on the banks of the Green River, near Seattle. It is operated by the non-profit corporation Starfire Sports. At the time of its opening, CEO Chris Slatt believed it to be "the largest synthetic-turf soccer complex in the U.S."〔 ==History== The site was formerly Fort Dent Park, operated by King County. In addition to the existing grass soccer fields, the park included a cricket pitch and softball fields in the areas now occupied by artificial-surface soccer fields.〔("Cricket team makes a pitch to save the pitch" ), ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', April 11, 2003〕〔 Severe budget cuts in 2002 led the county to schedule the closing of this park, among others, at the end of the year; however, parks that were located within municipal boundaries were offered to those cities.〔("Pssst, cities: Want to take over a park that's run by King County?" ), ''The Seattle Times'', March 29, 2002 〕 That offer sparked the formation of Starfire Sports by Slatt, Steve Beck and Mark Bickham, who negotiated a 40-year lease with the city of Tukwila to allow them to build and operate the complex.〔("Tukwila soccer fields to be ready late next month" ), ''The Seattle Times'', October 22, 2003 〕 This would relieve the city of an estimated $500,000 in annual maintenance costs which would likely have caused it to refuse the county’s offer had Starfire not stepped in.〔 Starfire plans to cover operating and maintenance costs through user fees and advertising banners and hopes to retire the $10 million construction costs over the course of several years.〔("Doomed park gets a new lease; local soccer gets much-needed kick" ), ''The Seattle Times'', July 22, 2004 〕 New construction included four lighted outdoor soccer fields with FieldTurf, including the stadium with its 2000-seat grandstand, along with the indoor facility. Beginning in summer 2004, English Premier League powerhouse Manchester United offered training at Starfire as part of their Soccer Schools program. This came to an end in December 2007.〔(Star Fire Sports Training ) 〕 The city of Tukwila still maintains a wooded part of the site as a public park.〔("Fort Dent has new stewards" ), ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'', October 11, 2003〕 An expansion was unanimously approved by city leaders in a public hearing at the beginning of 2008 for the offices and training facilities of Seattle Sounders FC. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Starfire Sports」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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