To celebrate the grand opening of the $30 million Golden Eagle Sports Complex, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini dusted off his old mitt, wound up and threw the first pitch on Monday.

To the energetic music and presentation by Reed High School's band and color guard, hundreds of community members gathered to hear "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," and dream of the day when they will round third for a heart-stopping slide into home base.

A parade of dignitaries, subcontractors and moms with strollers in tow welcomed the new sports complex amidst the whipping winds, a chorus of "wows" and the smells of BBQ by concessionaire Bully's Sports Bar & Grill.

"This has something to do with vision," said Norm Dianda, owner of Q&D Construction. "You made an effort to plan something not just for the city of Sparks, but for all of northern Nevada to enjoy. This project was totally out of the ordinary."

The 140-acre sports complex and regional park is Sparks' largest public works project ever, and the largest artificial turf project in North America.

"Look at how wonderful this facility is," said Councilman Mike Carrigan. "I would like to thank everyone who was involved in this project. We should see if we can get into the Guinness Book of World Records for setting the artificial turf record. As a member of the local water board, I appreciate that the turf will save 42 million gallons of water a year, a quantity equal to about $200,000 in savings."

The sports complex is unique in that it uses artificial turf on all of its sports fields - more than 1.2 million square-feet - the largest turf project of its kind in the United States. Turf eliminates the waiting period that sod requires to become established before the fields can be used.

The sports complex features energy-efficient lighting which uses one-tenth of the power used by Don Mello, and is designed to cut light pollution to surrounding neighborhoods. All fields are lighted, along with stadium-size bleachers and parking.

"This is a nationally renowned project," said Jim Mendenhall with Field Turf. "Our future is here in parks and high schools. People from across the country will come here and ask how you did this, how you did that - and the answer is Field Turf."

The sports complex includes six softball fields, two baseball fields, two youth baseball fields, a stadium-sized multi-use field for soccer or football, two multi-purpose fields, four volleyball courts, bocce ball area, a 7,200 square-foot concession venue run by Bully's Sports Bar & Grill, and a maintenance building.

In anticipation of the next part of the park to open, children shook boxes of Cracker Jacks and hopped along the pavement, looking at drawings of a baseball mitt-shaped climbing wall and a wiffle-ball field with play structure and slide. Both are dedicated to Councilman John Mayer, also a longtime educator.

"The children's play structures will be named after Councilman John Mayer, for his lifelong commitment to children in the city of Sparks," said Sparks Parks and Recreation Director Stan Sherer. "This is the most exciting day of my career."

Sparks City Manager Shaun Carey thanked the Sparks staff who "took the dreams of the city council and brought them to fruition. We had a dream one day this would be a sports complex."

Carey thanked the Bureau of Land Management for its cooperation in a 14-year process to make the sports complex a reality, and for the tireless efforts of Sparks Parks and Recreation Director Stan Sherer.

"If his heart could ever be measured, we would need a truck scale to do it," Carey said.

Councilman Ron Schmitt said Golden Eagle was an example of a great public-private partnership between the Legends at Sparks Marina, the city and Washoe County, noting that RED Development's purchase of the Don Mello softball fields allowed for the construction of the new and larger sports complex.

Golden Eagle replaces the softball fields of Don Mello Sports Complex. The city sold Don Mello to RED Development for $17.7 million, to construct the Legends at Sparks Marina retail and entertainment complex.

"It's unbelievable," said Sparks Public Works Director Wayne Seidel, thanking city staff, building department and utility companies for their efficiency in helping to move the project forward. "This was a fast-tracked project. Q&D Construction began the grading last March and phase two began in August. It really is a team sport when you're doing a project of this magnitude."

"This is probably the finest sports complex in the country," said Councilman Ron Smith. "I'm proud to live and work for the city of Sparks."

A large line-up of dignitaries on the field and in the bleachers also included Sparks City Manager Shaun Carey, Commissioners Bob Larkin and Bonnie Weber, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell, former Sparks Mayor Bruce Breslow, Assemblyman John Marvel, Former Sparks Mayor and current Judge Jim Spoo, John Ascuaga, Harvey Whittemore, and representatives from the offices of Sen. Harry Reid, Sen. John Ensign and Congressman Dean Heller.

Golden Eagle will also feature a Washoe County regional park, interpretive center and trails system.

The interpretive center includes a 3,000 square-foot outdoor classroom plaza with a stepped, seating-wall type of amphitheater. A three-quarter mile paved trail will be constructed, along with native landscaping, interpretive signs, restrooms and parking.

Washoe County Commissioners approved a contract with MACTEC Engineering and Consulting for the design and engineering work on the new Pah Rah Trailhead and Interpretive Facility. Under an agreement approved by the Sparks City Council on Feb. 26, 2007, the city will manage and maintain the park; while the county will manage and maintain the trailhead and interpretive facility.

Sparks and Washoe County acquired the 450-acre parcel of land located behind Fire Station No. 5 from the Bureau of Land Management through the Recreation and Purposes Act.

The regional park is funded through $1.8 million from parks and open space bond funds approved by voters in 2000, and state conservation grants. The remainder of funding for the regional park comes from $3.4 million in park impact fees paid by developers.

As population growth continues and more funds become available, the park will add more sports fields and possibly an equestrian park.