McAllen Parks & Rec. Dept. to Host Men's Slow Pitch Tourney

The City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department announced they will be hosting an ASA Men’s Southern “E” National Qualifier Slow Pitch Tournament at Westside Softball Complex beginning Saturday, July 17, 2010. Tournament begins at 8:00 a.m.

To register for the ASA Men’s Southern “E” National Qualifier Slow Pitch Tournament all teams must pay an entry fee of $275.00 per team. Registration is open to all teams qualified as “E” Men’s Slow Pitch Division teams. The tournament will feature a 3 game guarantee to all teamsthat register.

Awards will be given to top finishing teams. Monetary awards will be determined based on number of teams registered. Deadline to register is Monday, July 12, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. (noon). Teams that play in a qualifier tournament may be eligible to play at the ASA National Men’s “E” tournament.

“We are happy to be hosting an ASA Tournament in McAllen again this year,” said Rick Krauss, Superintendent of Recreation. “We hope all ofour local teams come out and join us for what is sure to be some exciting competition.”

For more information regarding the tournament please contact Victor Ayala, Tournament Director, City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department at (956) 681-3333.

Download Tournament Fact Sheet [PDF]

North McAllen Police Network Training Center To Open July 9

view photo galleryThe North McAllen Police Community Network Training Center, located on 29th Street and Oxford Avenue, will officially open its doors July 9, at 10 a.m.

Themulti-use, 11,500 square foot facility was designed to meet a variety of the community’s needs. A substantial portion of the building will serve as central training facility. It will also house a multi-purpose meeting room for the public as well as conference rooms, offices and work areas for McAllen police officers.

The Community Network Training Center Facility will be the first structure on what will become a complex of related civic buildings.

Construction on the recently completed, $1.9 million dollar structure began in the summer of 2009.

Download North McAllen Training Center Snapshot [PDF]

Changes Approved for Park Rental Fees, Policy

At the most recent McAllen City Commission meeting, commissioners approved fee increases for city park rentals, community center rentals and use of the Quinta Mazatlan grounds. They also granted first access to use of the city owned facilities to McAllen residents.

“Our fees have not been increased since 1999 and 2003 at various facilities," said McAllen Parks and Recreation Director Sally Gavlik. "And, while all of our maintenance costs, our personnel costs to man those facilities, to improve those facilities and to just do the general maintenance on those facilities have increased over the years, there has been no cost in the rental fees to be passed along to the public to support those (increases).”

In addition to Quinta Mazatlan and several community centers, the City of McAllen park system manages and maintains 36 public parks, some of which contain pavilions, pools, kitchens and other facilities commonly reserved for birthday parties, reunions, weddings and quinceañeras.

According to Gavlik, about 60 percent of reservations are made by non-McAllen residents.

In addition to the fee increases, which vary according to the range of amenities offered for each rental, the commission also voted in favor of a new policy allowing McAllen residents the opportunity to reserve facilities before non-residents.

"So, for the first three days of each month, McAllen residents will be the only ones that will be allowed to reserve any of our facilities," Gavlik said. "Beginning on the fourth day, it will be open for the rest of the Rio Grande Valley.”

To reserve the city owned facilities, residents will need to provide proper documentation such as a driver’s license, utility bill or a tax receipt with an address.

Gavlik said the fee increases will take effect in October but since park rentals are opened 3 months in advance, she wanted residents to be made aware of the new changes now.

For reservations or for more information about the new policy, contact the McAllen Parks and Recreation office at (956) 681-3333.

Pachuca vs. Monterrey Soccer Match Coming To McAllen July 10

Two soccer teams from Mexico's premier professional division, Rayados of Monterrey and Tuzos Del Puchuca, are expected to clash Saturday, July 10, 2010, at McAllen's Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The match, expected to be played before a sellout crowd of 17,000 soccer fans,is being promoted by the Suenosy Talentos (dreams and talents) organization which has also organized a series of events leading up to game day.

Included is the Relampago soccer tournament on July 3 and July 4, giving amateur teams from McAllen, Laredo, Brownsville, Harlingen, Mexico, Houston and San Antonio to prove their dominance. The matches will be hosted by the De Leon Soccer Complex. The champion team will be awarded $10,000 dollars and the Champions Trophy to be presented during half time of the closing match, by players of the teams Rayados de Monterrey and Tuzos del Pachuca, at Veterans Memorial Stadium on July 10.

On July 5, free soccer clinics for coaches and trainerswill be offered at Palm View Community Center and on July 6, the clinicswill be offered at De Leon Soccer Complex. There will be a total of 6 theoretical instruction hours, audio visual material, and field of work play.

During 2 consecutive days, July 7 and 8, "Sueños Y Talentos 2010" will carry out professional tryouts for gifted youngsters 15 to 20 years old. They will have the opportunity to be seen and evaluated by professional soccer team talent scouts of Mexico's Professional First Division and of the United States.This will be highlighted by the presence of the United States U-17 national selection tryout scout, Juan Carlos Michia.

Sueñosy Talentos has planned autograph signing sessions for two days as part of its event on July 9 and 10. On July 10, there will also be free soccer clinics for soccer referees.

On game day, July 10, gates at Veterans Memorial Stadium open at 5 p.m. and the Relampagos amateur championship match will take the field at 6. The professional match between Rayados and Tuzos will begin at 9 p.m. Tickets are available on-line atwww.ez-tixx.com or by calling (877) 993-8499. In McAllen, tickets are also being sold at Melhart Music Center (3325 N. 10th Street), Cavender's Western Outfitter (3300 E.Expressway 83, Unit 900) and atWireless Toyz (100 North 10th, Suite A).

Organizers said they plan to offer park and ride service to Veteran's Memorial Stadium on game day from the McAllen Convention Center.

For more information about the upcoming events, call (956) 905-7945 or visitwww.suenosytalentos.com.

McAllen Agrees to Allow Edinburg to Utilize Recycling Center

On Monday, the McAllen City Commission approved a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Edinburg and the City of McAllen, which will promote regional cooperation between Edinburg and McAllen in implementing curbside recycling of residential waste.

The City of Edinburg is implementing a curbside collection pilot recycling program. The City of McAllen has agreed to allow the City of Edinburg to utilize the McAllen Recycling Center for the collection of Edinburg’s curbside pilot recyclable program. The term of this mutual agreement will stand for six (6) months at which time both cities will meet to determine and evaluate the success of the pilot program and consideration for expansion of the program throughout the City of Edinburg.

The City of McAllen currently pays the City of Edinburg for use of its landfill. In this agreement, Edinburg agrees to offset McAllen’s acceptance of Edinburg’s recycling stream by issuance of a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal credit equal to 2:1 match. That will equal to one ton credit in McAllen’s MSW stream by two (2) tons of Edinburg’s recyclable stream.