In honor of Indepence Day, a holliday celebrating the biggest change in our nations history, I have created a list of thirteen changes (one for each of the original colonies) I would love to see at the Corvallis Sports Park.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."
Charles Darwin

1. Redecorate the Sports Pub
Decorate the pub like a clubhouse for Corvallis. Give it a local feel with photos, memorabilia and newspaper clippings related to Corvallis soccer. Corvallis has a rich soccer history with great stories. Lets celebrate that. The international scarves and posters that adorn the place now just isn't that interesting to most of us. I thought the new Applebees in town did a great job of decorating.

2. The Sportsmanship Championship
Championship night is great, and its a shame that the recreational leagues don't get to participate. Lets change that by rewarding teams with the best sportsmanship and attitude through the season with a Sportsmanship Championship. What a great way to promote good behavior and involve the other leagues in the excitement of Championship night.

3. More Staff in the Pub
I like the people that work in the pub. I think they work extremely hard and do the best they can. That's why I often feel guilty for ordering anything. I'm afraid that my beer and hot wings order is going to the be the straw that breaks the camel's back. What I'd like is to be able to sit my lazy keister on the balcony, give my order to someone and feel like I'm doing them a favor by giving them something to do. The folks at El Sol de Mexico do a good job of making me feel like I've made their day just by ordering.

4. A Women's Competitive League
Higher level female soccer players in the Corvallis area still suffer without a consistent competitive league to look forward to. Its not for a lack of talented and competitive players. The upper coed leagues are filled with great female players. Both high schools have talented girls programs and OSU has a women's varsity and club teams. Inviting interested women to get together at the pub to talk about the situation is an easy start.

5. Music on the Field
The speakers and amplifier are already there. Move and the speakers across from the balcony and rock us out between games and at halftime. What a great way to really enhance the Sports Park experience for players and spectators. You know you want to hear Thunderstruck blasting as you get ready to play your game.

6. Improve and Increase the Shoe Selection
There just isn't enough stock or selection on the shoe wall to get me to shop there. If I'm placing a special order, it may as well be with an online supplier. I don't have clear solution to the problem but its not going to improve by remaining as it is. I was recently told that the Corvallis based footwear provider Footwise does three million in online sales a year. My recommendation is to call up their owners (who I know like soccer) and see if they will trade coffee for advice.

"If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong."
Charles Kettering

7. More Balcony Seating
Sometimes it can get pretty hard to find seats for a group on the balcony. Extending the upstairs balcony in both directions to create more seating would be great. Even better would be to create lounge areas above the storage rooms in both corners of the field overlooking the field.

8. Soccer on TV
I watched nearly every European Cup match at the Corvallis Sports Park. The big screen TV was OK. After I watched the final on a high definition television I was sold on HD. To be truly be a destination location to watch soccer (which I think the pub should be) the Park needs to to upgrade to a HD television. The pub also needs to subscribe to the GOL TV package.

9. Referee-Customer Collaboration
Customers/players need a way to safely engage referees in a positive and collaborative way. Imagine what could come out of an exchange of perspectives and ideas. We have to remember that we all want the same thing. Referees and players both want a fun, safe, and fair game. We need to break down the us and them attitude.

10. Scheduling Equality
Each winter certain divisions get screwed with terrible game schedules. When there are so many teams its obvious that some games needs to be played on Monday at 10:15 PM or Sunday at 10:00 AM. These more undesirable games should be spread around equitably among all teams and divisions. If we are evacuating an airplane I'm OK with a women and old people first policy. Otherwise everyone can take their fair turn at an odd day or time.

11. Trade Foosball for Air Hockey
The foosball table is dead anyways. An air hockey table would fit very nicely in that corner.

12. Hands on League Assignments
Team equality continues to be an issue with the recreational and intermediate leagues. Its getting better but each season there are still a few teams that are obviously in the wrong division. Perhaps the team managers or referees could assist with the process.

13. Interleague Play
The Corvallis Sports Park and Kick City in Springfield are under the same management. A unique opportunity exists to set up some matches between the two facilities. A healthy rivalry between the two facilities would be pretty cool.

"The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them."
George Bernard Shaw

What do you think of these? What changes would make your experience at the Corvallis Sports Park better? Leave a comment or cast your vote.