LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pueblo Corporation announced today that Steve Sampson, former U.S. National Team head coach, will continue to oversee the company's planning and development of its $12 million soccer academy, El Pueblo Del Futbol, or the town of futbol.
In May 1999, Pueblo Corporation announced its plans to build a major soccer academy in Southern California. The project comprises a 50-plus acre facility providing a top-quality sports environment where youths and adults can train and play with the best coaching and regulation facilities available in the region.
"With the offer to coach the Costa Rican national team on the table, it was time to make a decision," said Steve Sampson, the first American-born coach to guide the U.S. national team to a World Cup final. "Taking a country's national team to the World Cup is an honor, but making El Pueblo del Futbol a reality is a long-term legacy I cannot tear myself away from. This project will put Southern California on the map of the world's most popular sport, and this undeniable vision is shared by Pueblo and myself."
Pueblo Corporation is an affinity marketing company that offers La Llave del Pueblo, or the key to the town, to its members. Targeting the burgeoning Hispanic marketplace, Pueblo Corporation management places emphasis on providing discounts in products in services of the highest quality, along with unprecedented 24/7 customer service to its Patrones de Pueblo, the term used for the members. The membership card carries a $25 annual fee.
Pueblo Corporation and Steve Sampson have been in discussions with, among others, the city officials of Los Angeles, Oxnard, Irwindale and Chino Hills for an appropriate site to house the state-of-the-art futbol complex. El Pueblo del Futbol represents part of the company's policy of giving back to its Patrones of La Llave del Pueblo. Other projects include an ongoing scholarship program, television and radio programming and community outreach.
"We have been committed to building this academy from the very beginning," stated Federico Herrera, President & COO of Pueblo Corporation. "Steve's contribution in the overall process has been very positive. The project is fully funded and we are on the verge of announcing the site."
The project includes a stadium with seating for 10,000 fans, 12 - 16 regulation fields, indoor facilities, parking, concession areas and administrative offices.
Pueblo Corporation, a Hispanic-owned and operated company, is based in Century City, Calif. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pueblo Holdings Corporation, which at the end of 1999 had revenues totaling $287 million and assets of $1.4 billion. Other Pueblo Holdings subsidiaries include American Founders Life Insurance Company and Bradford National Life Insurance Company, both headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz.; and Structured Portfolio Management LLC, New York City.