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Archive for category: Jeff ‘Laca’ Conway Blogs

BREAKING NEWS: Loren Harris has just passed away in Cancun of heart attack. (Updated with GOFUNDME 1/7/22)

A Go Fund Me account has been set up to help Patty Harris, wife of Loren who passed away last evening of a massive heart attack.

Please help as this unfortunate news has this has hit a lot of people hard.

The Fronton Salas is taking care of everything here in Mexico, but she will need further help.

Loren was having dinner with former pro player Lasa and it just happened. The hotel staff and everyone reacted quicky with CPR and did not stop till medical care and an ambulance arrived. He was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately nothing could have been done. They believe he died almost instantly at the hotel.

Laca
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As Tempe Arizona considers Arizona Coyotes Hockey facility, Jai Alai Development is Still on the Table

By Chris Spidle

https://www.coyotesintempe.com

Tempe, Arizona continues to consider proposed developments for 46-acre site.

As noted, previously, the City of Tempe, Arizona issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in July, 2021.  The major requirement for consideration of a response was the ability to bring a “franchise” sports team to the site.  The solicitation was pointed squarely at the Phoenix Coyotes hockey club which currently plays in Glendale, Arizona.

The Coyotes have had a contentious relationship with the City of Glendale resulting with threats by the City to “lock out” the Coyotes if they do not pay current their taxes and other related obligations.  This was recently reported in the media (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/arizona-coyotes-just-forgot-to-pay-a-13-million-tax-bill-anybody-buying-that/ar-AAREAxh).

          The Coyotes submitted a development plan for the Tempe site and immediately incurred the rath of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (KPHX).  The Airport located only a few thousand yards west of the site is one of the busiest airports in the United States.  The Airport objects to the height of the buildings proposed, indicating it may require alterations to the3 FAA approved flight patterns and other mitigating actions.  Traffic on nearby freeways (known as “the 101” and “the 202” could be jammed during hockey games causing missed flights and other disruptions at the airport.

          The major limiting factor for those responding to the RFP is a requirement to locate a franchised sports team on the site.  This requirement is fairly limiting as a rundown of available franchises will include the Arizona Cardinals who paly near the Glendale hockey facility in a state-of-the-art facility; the Arizona Diamondbacks; well established in an iconic facility with an opening roof in downtown Phoenix. The Phoenix Suns who play at the downtown Suns Arena and Phoenix Rising professional soccer club which is currently building a new facility elsewhere. Essentially few options for “a franchise” exist.

          A small group of developers has proposed to develop the site within the confines of the airport requirements and meeting all the objectives of the City of Tempe.  These objectives include 200,000 square feet of retail space and 1,000 upscale residences plus parking, pedestrian areas, and transportation interface facilities.  The group has proposed an American Basketball League team franchise which is confirmed with a letter of intent from an ABA team owner.  The group also proposes a Jai Alai fronton on the site, introducing the fast and exciting Basque game to southwestern United States. Therefore, the groups requirement for a franchise is viable.

More than 100 interested parties registered to download the RFP documents.  Reports in the press and on the street seem to indicate only the Coyotes presented a proposal.  The appearances are that only the Coyotes submitted plans and now they appear to be in dire financial straits with nowhere to play in the 2022 season and their financial dirty laundry being aired in public.  It has become common knowledge in the community through very knowledgeable sources that the Coyotes are in deep financial trouble.  This may even lead to them relocating to another city out of state.

          So, where does that leave Jai Alai and basketball?  From some perspectives, the Jai Alai and basketball facility at the core of the development are the only viable alternative for the City of Tempe if they continue to seek a franchise for the site.  The city is fully aware of this while awaiting a final decision on the Coyotes. The group of proposed developers for the site are seeking to be “second choice” and are being eyed as such by the City of Tempe.  We must let the Coyotes debacle play out.

          The strategy is that if the Coyotes withdraw for any reason, the City of Tempe should reopen (not re-solicit) the development request for proposals.  By reopening the original solicitation, only those developers who originally registered will be able to submit This is what is anticipated to happen. The Jai Alai proposal will then be submitted with the basketball franchise as the qualifying element. 

          A small group of development professionals having considerable experience in sports development has come together informally to support the proposal.  Right now, it is a waiting game.  A decision on the Coyotes proposal for the site is anticipated soon.  When that happens all Jai Alai resources available will be called upon to push the proposal through.  The National Jai Alai Association and Benny Bueno have been actively supporting the local Arizona efforts and will play a significant role in getting this project to market.

All potential resources or interested parties are encouraged to be prepared to contribute according to their skills and abilities.  We are intent on getting Jai Alai back on track through expansion beginning in Arizona.  I can be contacted by email at c@spidle.com.

Chris Spidle

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NJAA Enjoys a Magical Weekend as Remodeled Cancha Opens to Record Turnout. (Part 2)

If you build it, they will come.  And boy, did they ever!  About 35 players showed up over the weekend as the newly remodeled cancha – the first and only public court in America – opened its doors to the public.

On Saturday, open play was in store with the first player showing up being 60-year old Rastock, who recently completed another successful season at Calder jai-alai.   Shortly afterwards a few NJAA regulars showed up and then Dania player’s manager Benny Bueno showed up to play with his son Chirs, now an active player on the Magic City roster.  Benny had dusted off his old cesta and made the nearly 5-hour trip to St. Petersburg.  Dozens of more players showed up to play, with lots of spectators watching including Benny’s mother and sisters, who happen to live in the area.  St. Pete Cancha‘s founder Paul Kubala later showed and was able to play with his son Kyle who had made the venture up from Miami with a van load of fellow Magic City players.

It seemed like everyone was having a great time – and no one seemed to want to quit playing despite the unseasonably warm weather (mid 80s and sunny) that the Miami boys brought with them.       

At night, dozens of players attended the grand reopening of the newly remodeled J Laca Museum and guests were blown away with what they saw.  We will feature a new story later on this month on the additions to the museum.  The party was a blast and Benny Bueno was the star of the show with so many stories to tell on all the items he saw in the museum. The Magic City gang was all there too and had a great time.  Even Superfan George Quinn was there.     

On Sunday, the big Grand Opening event was held.  The show got underway 31 minutes late, as the Magic City gang was a little late getting out of bed from their house rental in Clearwater.  Don’t ask me why they were late, but 11am is early for a Sunday, I guess!   

A 12-game exhibition tournament was held and lasted an unmanageable 4 ½ hours under warm sunny skies again.  The hot dogs and burgers will grilling, tents camped out,  music playing and Magic Mike’s Computer system playing over a sound system and about 30 players participating in the event.  

Faces in the crowd included Stu Neiman, who was making his first appearance to the St. Pete cancha and seemed quite impressed with everything.  Also in the crowd was Mark K, the NJAA Historian and several other people.  A lot of players from the past are coming back to play, likely because of the newly enlarged court that is more conducive to “real” jai-alai play.

Everyone seemed happy with the court with the only complaint being the low overhead net, which was getting dinged often.  Hopefully that will be taken care of soon.  The Magic City players all love the sport and most say they would have played jai-alai in college if something like that existed.  They love jai-alai more than football, baseball and other sports that they had excelled in.  They also loved the concept of playing outside in the fresh air.  

The NJAA would like to thank those that donated money to help fund the expansion as we are closing on the gap needed to about $2,700 more to go.  A donation link can be found in a previous story on the home page of The Pelota Press.

Laca
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Magic City and NJAA tournament results are in for 12/12/21 with many pics. (Part 1 of 2)

Roster Pic for Magic City and NJAA tournament Dec 12, 2021

“MAGICMIKE” surprises the field by winning 5 out of 7 games played in.

(Says 2 losses caused by drinking a COKE instead of Dr. Pepper before game 8,

but after it wore off won games 11 and 12)

Game # 1 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 11:33:29 Ended: 11:43:18
Kubala/Laca 3
Juice/Ricky 1
Mike/Anthny 9 Win
Brodie/Cachin 5
CRB/King 1
Alex/Diaz 1

Game # 2 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 11:46:48 Ended: 11:55:35
Garby/LBarba 4
Will/Corky 1
Julio/Thomas 1
Jon/Crizz 9 Win
George/RickB 0
Rule/Diaz 1

Game # 3 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 12:00:35 Ended: 12:21:33
Cody/Chip 5
Mike/RickB 9 Win
Julio/Laca 1
Kubala/Daniel 6
Brodie/LBarba 8
Juice/Anthny 5

Game # 4 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 12:25:56 Ended: 12:44:25
Jon/Diaz 7
George/King 6
Garby/Ricky 9 Win
LBarba/Cachin 7
Alex/Corky 2
Will/Crizz 4

Game # 5 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 12:50:56 Ended: 13:00:39
CRB/Anthny 3
Juice/RickB 0
Mike/Daniel 9 Win
Rule/Crizz 5
Julio/Denver 3
Kubala/Thomas 0

Game # 6 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 13:06:27 Ended: 13:18:57
Alex/Denver 2
Brodie/Chip 8
Garby/Corky 9 Win
Leo/Diaz 2
Jon/Cody 3
LBarba/King 1

Game # 7 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 13:22:51 Ended: 13:35:00
George/LBarba 5
Kubala/Cachin 3
Juice/Denver 1
CRB/Chip 2
Julio/Thomas 3
Ricky/Laca 9 Win

Game # 8 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 13:38:59 Ended: 13:49:13
Alex/Rule 1
Garby/Anthny 9 Win
Juice/Corky 1
Mike/Kubala 1
Jon/King 2
Brodie/Crizz 0

Game # 9 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 13:53:24 Ended: 14:06:41
CRB/Thomas 2
Rule/RickB 9 Win
Julio/Cachin 7
Ricky/Laca 4
George/Chip 1
Leo/Diaz 1

Game # 10 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 14:18:12 Ended: 14:33:01
Kubala/PCast 1
Rule/Anthny 5
Jon/Crizz 2
CRB/Diaz 0
Garby/Corky 1
Brodie/Julio 9 Win
Juice/LBarba 2
Mike/Cachin 0

Game # 11 to 9 points 12-12-2021 Start: 14:54:35 Ended: 15:08:39
Alex/Juice 0
Mike/Julio 9 Win
George/Thomas 0
Rule/Cachin 8
King/RickB 4

Game # 12 to 15 points 12-12-2021 Start; 15:20:00 Ended: 15:45:00
Kubala/PCast
CRB/Diaz
Juice/LBarba 12

Garby/Anthny
Mike/Cachin 15 Win
Jon/Crizz

MAGICMIKE / CACHIN WIN FINAL POINT TO WIN THE NJAA VS MAGIC CITY TOURNAMENT

To Enlarge any Picture – Right click it and show image in new tab.
Laca
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Puryear Park II Ready with Big Weekend Celebration Dec 12

Click this picture to download/view FULL Program

America’s first and only public jai-alai court has just completed a total makeover, with a huge expansion of the court, bringing it in line with standard amateur courts around the world. 

This weekend will be filled with jai-alai excitement with over 30 players expected to play over the weekend with several Magic City players joining in.

The big event takes place Sunday Dec 12 at 11am with a 12-game schedule.  All NJAA players will appear in 5 games each, with others joining in with ex-players from Newport, Bridgeport, Tampa, Miami, Ocala, Hamilton and Calder all in the lineup.   

Buster’s Courtside Grill WILL be open serving chargrilled hamburgers and hot dogs along with soda, chips and water.  MagicMike’s talking scoreboard will be setup along with the PA system.  An 8-page brochure will be available and donations will be accepted at a special booth setup to help complete the renovation project.   New NJAA, Puryear Park jai-alai shirts will be displayed along the wall and available for orders.

The public is welcome to attend the Grand Opening of Puryear Park II !

Laca
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A Magical Weekend ahead at the “New” St. Pete Cancha

There’s going to be a true “Magical” weekend at the “New” St. Pete Cancha.  Yes, Walt Disney World is only 83 miles to the east.  And yes, Magic Mike’s Computer Repair Store is just 1 mile to the west, but it’s going to be a different kind of magical weekend.  While Magic Mike will be there with his “Jack Patterson” talking scoreboard, about half the Magic City roster (perhaps more) are expected to be in town to play on the newly renovated and enlarged St. Pete Cancha – America’s first and only city jai-alai court.     

It’s a whole new court now and with St. Pete alum and current Magic City player Kyle Kubala arranging things along with permission from Stu Neiman (who might be coming too), this event is shaping up to be the biggest event ever held jai-alai wise on the west coast of Florida.  About 25 local players, including former pros Daniel and Corky are signed up to play joining another 10 or so players from Magic City.  Chris Bueno will be there and most likely so will be his father Benny, who recently was seen on NBC News with the closing of Dania jai-alai (see previous story for link to the story).

Former St. Pete mayor and the man that got the cancha approved by the city council in 2007, Bill Foster will also be in attendance.

This actual event was set up several months ago, but put on ice and organizers crossed their fingers with the progress of the renovation of the court.  In these times of COVID, any construction job that involves a lot of materials and labor like this one is subject to delays.  Work has been going on since the day after Father’s Day – 26 weeks ago – or half a year!  The wait may be worth it as several games have been played to test playing conditions, net placing and line placement on the court.  It was just resurfaced and now only the stripping needs to be done, which should be happening any moment.  The court is expected to be open again by Thursday, December 9th.  Just in time for our big event!  The court is actually not completed yet– an entrance door needs to be completed and perhaps a few other things like tinkering with the ceiling net, etc.

The event this weekend is only an exhibition.  It is not an actual tournament.  There is no money being exchanged, no trophies, no nothing.  It’s just for fun.  Saturday is open play with no set time set.  Sunday, the event will begin at 11am and is expected to last up to 4 hours given the numbers of players we have.  Bring your own food and drinks, Busters Courtside Grill will not be open.  The event should end in time for those that want to watch the Bucs-Bill game starting at 4:25pm just across the pond in Tampa.  A win by the Bucs will give them the divisional title.

Donations will be accepted from anyone in attendance willing to help keep our public court and the great sport of jai-alai alive!  Please help out.  The court is amazing and will be around for a long time to enjoy free of charge.      

Laca
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St. Pete Cancha Resurfacing Complete (New Pics 12/8/21)

New Lines Painted – Ready for Play – Gates are not up yet, but coming soon and hopefully something done with overhanging screen.
New Surface as of 12/4/21
  • 12/3/21
  • 12/3/21
  • 12/3/21

The St. Pete Cancha is now closed as resurfacing of the entire court and out of bounds area is getting a major makeover.  This is the last major step in the renovation and expansion of America’s first and only public court.  The flooring was in pretty bad shape and was last recovered about 6 years ago.  With the court expanded by knocking down adjoining racquetball court walls, much more flooring needed to be redone.  Right now, lots of patching is taking place to fill in large holes and irregularities.  The work is expected to last about a week – hopefully in time for the Magic City players second visit to the court to take place in exhibitions to be held the weekend of December 11-12th.  Exact planning of the event and promotion has been put on hold till be are assured the court will be playable.

The work on the court has resumed after two delays on the resurfacing project  – one where the company with the winning bid went bankrupt – yes, after winning the bid –  and then the materials getting backordered again a couple weeks ago.

On Tuesday night, Loren Harris made a special appearance and 21 players showed up including 10 ex-pros including Daniel Love and Jeff Williams.   

Laca
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J Laca Museum Expanding for the 4th Time

The J Laca Museum is expanding for the 4th time to make room for a large collection of jai-alai memorabilia just obtained since visiting Dania for the final weekend there.

Additional walls are being extended and the Babe Ruth section getting relocated to make room for a whole bunch of new jai-alai stuff.

The crown jewel is the actual Hall of Champions plaque that was hanging in Tampa Jai-alai lobby.   The huge handmade and crafted plaque features all the winners of Overall wins, Singles, Front Court Doubles, Back Court Doubles, and ITM % from their first season in 1953 to 1996 when the 76” x 50” wooden frame ran out of room.  Many items were stashed in a storage area at Ft. Piece Jai-alai, but the property was recently sold and they are relocating their poker room to another smaller location.  Other items from the vault are books that include all the programs from every year since 1953.

A large collection was obtained from Dania Jai-alai such as a scrapbook of it getting approved and built in 1952-1953,  It includes hundreds of newspaper articles.  Other items received are a 1982 Playboy magazine with the monthly playmate enjoying jai-alai – her favorite sport!      

The museum is expected to be open this Friday afternoon.     

Laca
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Matt Tournament Now Underway with Record 40 Players (Updated 12/4/21)

Dania Jai-alai may have closed its doors last weekend with record crowds in their remodeled fronton last weekend, and the St. Pete Cancha is hoping to get their newly remodeled and expanded court broken in next weekend with about half the Magic City roster coming up to play, but that’s not stopping Matt DiDomizio from hosting another tournament this weekend. 

An amazing 40-players are registered for the 3-day tournament set for the weekend of December 3-5th in Berlin, Connecticut.  Virtually all the players except a very small handful appear to be from Connecticut and the greater Hartford area.    

Check out the lineup roster shown here for Saturday and be sure to watch the event on Facebook live (CLICK HERE).  

Laca
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