Legislature Withholds Olympic Center Loan

SACRAMENTO — A legislative budget conference committee Thursday voted to hold off giving the San Diego National Sports Training Foundation a $5-million loan next year to help build a year-round Olympic training center in Chula Vista.

The $5 million was to be the last installment of a $15-million state loan to the nonprofit foundation, which plans to build a state-of-the-art, $60-million complex to house and train Olympic athletes near the Eastlake development, on the western shore of the Otay Mesa reservoir. Construction of the training facilities--pool, track, a gymnasium--is scheduled to begin in the summer.

A joint Senate and Assembly budget committee voted unanimously to delete the state’s $5-million contribution from an omnibus spending plan that will be sent to Gov. Pete Wilson. The reason: California faces a staggering $11-billion budget shortfall by mid-1993.

“It’s $5 million we could use to balance the budget,” said Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), one of the Legislature’s chief budget writers. “It’s not a top priority.”

Although foundation officials said Thursday’s decision would “absolutely” hurt their construction fund-raising drive, they also said that an unrelated decision by ARCO to accelerate its private donations would offset any immediate financing problems next year.

The foundation has collected $20.8 million in pledges so far, they said. The state’s final $5-million loan installment is part of nearly $19 million still to be collected, they said.