Friday, September 18, 2009

United Football League at Practice

WOW!!! Don and I (and friend Mel Heckman) drove out to Francisco Grande this morning to check out the United Football League progress at the new playing fields. We were awed by the construction and organization we saw. What used to be just plain desert dirt 5-6 months ago is now green sod covered playing fields of at least 4 football fields. The sports facility is HUGE and really looks nice.

There is still a lot of construction underway but it is truly amazing at how much has been accomplished so fast. Hats off to the organizers for a fantastic job. In this photo, you can see the Francisco Grande hotel in the background at the left side. The huge building in these photos is all sports complex for training rooms, offices, etc. We didn't attempt to go in since there was so much construction going on but I plan to check out more on my next visit.




We were able to drive way back to the practice fields (all nicely paved road and parking lot now) and we stood to watch the practice. We only planned on a brief drive by but we wound up staying at least an hour because it was fascinating to watch the drills. There are no bleachers so next time I'm lugging along a lawn chair and an umbrella for shade. I could sit there for hours watching. This photo shows how far behind the hotel we are......and its all now green grass!....and notice all the huge lighting fixtures. (Ignore my thumb in the upper corner!)


I'm hoping you can zoon in on these pictures to see the players in action. We were quite exhausted just watching the work out exercises!

There were a good number of the blue "carts" on the field that raise up in the air so the camera crews can get good video. All were occupied and recording away. The organization and preparation it takes to make all this happen so fast is really impressive.

As we were walking through the parking lot, we passed this worker finishing up on a very complex sprinkling system. Couldn't resist another picture. I'm always impressed to learn about the "behind the scenes" work and things like this that we seldom think about when we pass a pretty flower bed.

Our son, Anton, is a bartender at the Holiday Inn where most of the players are staying. He said the first night he walked into their banquet room, he thought he had shrunk a foot of height overnight. He said all the players are HUGE. You won't find any of them at the bar though as alcohol is not in their contract.
The teams are holding a scrimmage match Thursday night, Sept 24 at 7:00 pm at Casa Grande Union High School. I definitely plan to attend!
California Redwoods vs Las Vegas Locomotives

For more info about the league, go to their website at: