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Demand for San Angelo's massive east-side sports complex already is rising - and the park hasn't even been finished yet.

The city has begun negotiations with a big-name tournament that would use the Rio Concho Sports Complex's baseball and softball fields next summer and possibly as long as 10 years - a tournament officials declined to name, but that they described as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"It's very critical that we move forward on this issue," Dominguez told the City of San Angelo Development Corp. board at its meeting Wednesday. "It's very important that we move forward. ... We knew we were going to get big tournaments in San Angelo. We weren't sure we could get this tournament. We need to get this project finished."

The sports complex - beleaguered by problems caused when crews uncovered a decades-old dumping ground for solid waste, oil and diesel - is scheduled to be complete by the beginning of 2009, with grass planting for the fields to begin in the spring. That would leave just enough time for the grass to grow in time for summer use.

Although the project is not running behind schedule, the city fears what any holdup could do to the tournament negotiations.

"We're really working to make sure it stays on schedule," said Assistant City Manager Rick Weise. "There is no margin for any delay."

Dominguez, Weise and other city officials met with Consolidated Contractors on Wednesday, pressing their need to finish the project quickly.

Meanwhile, the COSADC board, which manages the city's half-cent sales tax, agreed to shift funds that would allow renovations to a baseball field the tournament has said it needs to take place.

"It's right at the beginning of discussions," said COSADC Executive Director Kathy Keane. "My impression (is) if we can get the fields ready in time, it's a pretty high probability."

During Tuesday's City Council meeting, District 6 Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer, who has been active in advocating for more recreation centers throughout the city, said the tournament's organizers had wanted to play in San Angelo 10 years ago, but that the city did not have adequate facilities at the time.

The tournament tends to locate in a city for large blocks of time - as long as a decade, Keane said.

"It's a long-term deal, if we can get it," she said. "It could be a huge boon for us."

The COSADC board approved a shift of $250,000 that had been set for renovations to a Little League field on Ben Ficklin Road. The Southern Little League, which plays there, is discussing whether to shift its operations to the new sports complex, Dominguez said.

Although not initially planning to take any affirmative measures Wednesday, the board jumped at the opportunity to ease the city's negotiations. The reallocation will move to the City Council for approval.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we need to seize it," Dominguez told the board.

The COSADC - which manages the city's half-cent sales tax, the financing vehicle for the vast majority of the Rio Concho project - approved the shift by a 6-0 vote.

Work on the sports complex - officially, the Rio Concho Community Park and Sports Complex - is running about $300,000 under its $9.1 million budget, Dominguez told the board, taking the rare step of addressing the seven-member panel after an inaccurate presentation by parks officials last month led to a public retraction.

The extra money will allow the city to add furnishings, shade structures, scoreboards and sound systems to the project, Dominguez said.

Renovation of Rio Concho Park, at Bell Street and Rio Concho Drive, began in October 2007.

When complete, the park will feature a dozen tournament-ready baseball and softball fields, as well as playground equipment and other park features.

Construction was scheduled to last through the end of this year even before crews uncovered the ad hoc landfills along the north side of the project's expanded footprint.

Removal of the debris took months and cost the city more than $400,000 - and likely would have cost $1 million or more if much of the work had not been done in-house, Dominguez said.