The above picture of the proposed soccer complex was taken facing north, with Manitou Road on the left side and the Erie Canal (the south border of the complex) along the right side of the picture. A lone biker can be seen traveling on the canal path. At right, Muriel Hill Albright says that her backyard could become a parking lot for 1,000 cars. "I don't mind children playing soccer," she said "This project is just too commercial. So far, we have over 500 signatures on a petition opposing the proposed soccer complex in Greece Canal Park." Photographs by Walter Horylev.

Part 2 - Last week, Westside News Inc. considered the soccer field complex proposed for Greece. This week: The reactions.

Muriel Albright loves sports, but she's not too thrilled with the traffic that could be parked in her backyard.

Albright's home on 2106 Manitou Road is included on Greece's 101 Historical Homes list. If something isn't done to alter the soccer complex proposal, which would allow for 22 fields and approximately 2,000 parking spaces, Albright's home isn't the only thing that will be history, she says.

"People here are going to move out of the area," said Albright. "I don't think that anything of that magnitude, where they're going to sell the naming rights, belongs in this area."

Monroe County's proposal places the entrance to the complex on Manitou Road. The fields are sandwiched between Manitou Road, Greece Canal Park and Erie Canal and flank the towns of Ogden, Parma and Greece. Gay Lenhard, Ogden supervisor, said she too is concerned with the traffic that may be generated by this complex. "At the moment I see the key concern to be traffic," said Lenhard, who has registered her concerns with the county officials. Lenhard said she would like to see another road added to take some of the stress off of Manitou Road.

All in all, however, Lenhard is excited by the potential benefit to Spencerport businesses as a result of this new lure to out-of-state soccer teams. Both the Greece and Spencerport Area Chambers of Commerce endorsed the soccer complex proposal. The Brown report touched on the potential economic benefit saying, "The conservative estimate is $750,000 for a two-day tournament."

Rick Lemcke, Parma supervisor, is also in favor of the proposed soccer complex. Lemcke said he is excited by what he believes is forward thinking in reference to the proposal. "I think that it is time to take and do things the right way," said Lemcke. "I think the need for local soccer fields is throughout the county."

Steve Fowler, Parma director of Parks and Recreation, agrees with Lemcke. He said Parma, which has already proposed adding fields of its own, would look to benefit from this complex. It is expected that the fields will be used mainly for tournaments and by travel soccer teams. This would free up field space for the in-house teams.

"Soccer is the biggest out of all of our programs," said Fowler, adding that there are approximately 950 children participating in organized soccer. That number has gradually increased each year for a decade. However, young soccer enthusiasts aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from a soccer complex. "This is needed specifically to accommodate the tremendous growth in youth lacrosse," said Fowler.

Dennis Pelletier, Monroe County Legislature president, said the proposal is of tremendous benefit to the county, specifically the west side. "I think it is good for the west side," said Pelletier. "I think this is a positive family, youth-oriented project."

Area youth is what Bernard Iacovangelo, developer and Chili resident, said he had in mind when he first brought the idea to build a soccer complex to Monroe County Executive Jack Doyle. Iacovangelo said he was particularly thinking about the challenge that Rochester has been facing in keeping recent college graduates to live and work in the area.

"If we get these kids here when they are 13 and 14 years old, then when we try to recruit them later on we might have a chance," said Iacovangelo. "This is a win-win-win situation that has gotten turned around by the press."

Iacovangelo said he was frustrated with some of the negative publicity this plan had received and felt that battles over where the complex will be placed were detracting from the overall good a complex of this nature will bring to the Rochester community.

"I made a proposal on something I think is best for the community," said Iacovangelo. "If they had put it in Chili that's great, if they put it in Greece that's great, if they put it in Perinton that's great as well."

Albright, however, is preoccupied with where the complex goes and she's not the only one. She and a few concerned neighbors have formed a group called Citizens for the Integrity of Greece Canal Park. They have been canvassing the area speaking with residents and passing a petition that speaks out against the soccer complex.

Albright said they have about 500 signatures. She wrote to Doyle on June 26 and is yet to hear back. Albright said she plans to continue to lead the charge and make some noise. However, the silence on the part of county officials is starting to scare her. "I'm afraid to think about what that means," said Albright.