Environmentalists pillory Salt Lake City sports complex

 (Salt Lake Tribune) A 21-field sports complex near Rose Park would not disturb the neighboring Jordan River, but rather, ensure a 23-acre collar of green along its bank.

Mayor Ralph Becker is banking on his nature preserve talking points, indeed a commitment of cash, to make it so.

But a swelling crew of residents - a standing-room-only crowd stormed City Hall on Tuesday - argue spoiling the river's last undeveloped patch of open space with $40 million worth of lighted stadiums, buildings for snacks, restrooms, and parking for 1,300 is "madness."

One invoked Hurricane Katrina as reason enough never to build in a flood plain.

"I'm appalled and saddened by what I see happening to the river," said Kristia Urry. "Once we build on an area like this, it's gone."

Ty Harrison, a professor of biology at Westminster College said a landscaped bank rimming a recreation complex cannot be considered a nature preserve. Forcing out the birds and red fox, he added, is "ecological ignorance."

The City Council will vote Jan. 19 on whether to release a $15.3 million bond, approved by voters in 2003, along with a $7.5 million donation from Real Salt Lake to construct the complex west of the river near 2200 North. The city is courting Salt Lake County for another $17 million in exchange for management control.

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