Head out to Kino Sports Complex for Major League Soccer and the bling of the annual bead, gem and mineral, and rock shows.

The Desert Friendlies presented by FC Tucson start Tuesday, Jan. 29, at North Field #5.

Tuesday, Jan. 29                   11 a.m.           Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids

3 p.m.             San Jose Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo

6 p.m.             FC Tucson vs. Sporting KC

Thursday, Jan. 31                  6 p.m.             Houston Dynamo vs Colorado Rapids

Friday, Feb. 1                        6 p.m.            Sporting KC vs. Portland Timbers

Saturday, Feb. 2                   11 a.m.           San Jose Earthquakes vs. Colorado Rapids

4 p.m.             Houston Dynamo vs. Vancouver Whitecaps

Tuesday, Feb. 5                    11 a.m.           Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers

Friday, Feb. 8                        11 a.m.           FC Tucson vs. Portland Timbers

Five days later, The Desert Diamond Cup returns to Kino Stadium.

Wednesday, Feb. 13            5 p.m.             New England Revolution vs. Seattle Sounders

7 p.m.             New York Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake

Saturday, Feb. 16                 4 p.m.             Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake

6 p.m.             New York Red Bulls vs. New England Revolution

Wednesday, Feb. 20            5 p.m.             Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution

7 p.m.             Seattle Sounders vs. New York Red Bulls

Saturday, Feb. 23                 4 p.m.             MLS 3^rd Place vs. MLS 4^th Place

6 p.m.             MLS 1^st Place vs. MLS 2^nd Place

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.FCTucson.com.

Beginning Saturday, Feb. 2, and running through Sunday, Feb. 17, the Kino Gem and Mineral Show and The Rock Show bring hundreds of vendors and acres of fossils, crystals, beads, jewelry, gems and rocks to tables and tents in the Kino stadium parking lot and south soccer field, respectively. Admission and parking is free. For more information, including a vendor list, visit http://www.as-shows.com/pages/ and www.rockshowtucson.com/Rock_Show_Tucson/Home.html.

The Mulcahy Y (formerly Kino Community Center), 2805 E. Ajo Way, is once again the venue for the Best Bead Show Feb. 6-10. The showroom opens at 10 a.m. daily and closes at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6; 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking is free. There is a charge for classes. For more information, including vendor and class lists, visit www.bestbeadshow.com/BestBeadShows/BestBeadShow.aspx?id=1.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, Feb. 9, for the Major League Baseball spring training game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 21 at Kino Stadium. Visit www.tucsonpadres.com, call 520-434-1367 or stop by the Kino Stadium box office between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Tucson Padres season ticket holders, voucher plan holders and sponsors can purchase their spring training tickets a week in advance by calling 520-434-1367.

Kino Sports Complex (www.kinosportscomplex.com), 2500 E. Ajo Way, is home to both the Triple-A Tucson Padres baseball team and the FC Tucson soccer club. It is the largest professional sports and entertainment venue of its kind in Pima County.  It includes the 11,000-seat Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, seven baseball fields (four with lights), lighted softball fields, a regulation Soccer Stadium (lighted) and four additional fields for soccer, field hockey, rugby, and lacrosse. It is a natural fit for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional sports; and makes a great setting for social gatherings, concerts, and community events.

Pima County and FC Tucson unveiled plans today for a 2,000-seat soccer stadium and a sixth soccer field at Kino Sports Complex north of East Ajo Way.

“We’re creating an asset not just for people to watch professional soccer but to play amateur soccer, for our children to play,” said Ramón Valadez, chairman of the Pima County Board of Supervisors and supervisor for District 2, where Kino Sports Complex is located.

Supervisor Richard Elías, District 5, said the County’s improvements to Kino Sports Complex show “government moving quickly when a great opportunity knocks on the door.”

“By improving these facilities at such a rapid pace, I think we’ve shown our great commitment to our children and our youth and to professional sports,” he said.

The County’s $2.8 million in improvements at Kino Sports Complex will include a grandstand that will seat 1,600-1,800 with an overhang and with additional bleachers for up to 400, a new scoreboard, and restroom and concession facilities at North Field #1. North Fields #2 and #3 will be converted to three fields, and a new main entrance to the soccer fields will be built.

The work is expected to be completed in October 2013.

Greg Foster, a co-managing partner of FC Tucson, praised the County’s efforts to grow soccer here.

“In 18 months, as a result of the County’s investment in this facility, we’ve been able to attract Major League Soccer preseason; our community has been designated a Western hub of Major League Soccer preseason; we are going to be showcased on national TV, on NBC Sports for the final of the Desert Diamond Cup; we will have 10 Major League Soccer teams training in Tucson; we will have the first international friendly ever to be played in Tucson,” Foster said. “We’ve also attracted youth sports,” including the Arizona Youth Soccer Association state league games, the state cup and the Fort Lowell Shootout.

“The County’s commitment to soccer and the pace at which they’ve developed these facilities have made this all possible.”

Slide 1 of 4.
Slide 2 of 4.
Slide 3 of 4.
Slide 4 of 4.

The Denmark-Canada friendly match at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at Kino Stadium launches 10 days of Major League Soccer friendlies at North Field #5 followed by the Desert Diamond Cup on Feb. 13, 16, 20 and 23 at Kino Stadium.

Home matches during FC Tucson’s 2013 Premier Development League schedule, which begins May 11, will be played at North Field #5.

2013 season tickets went on sale today. Season ticket packages are $100 ($10/game) and will include seven PDL dates plus three additional matches to be determined. The first 1,600 fans to purchase 2013 season tickets will be guaranteed a chance to order 2014 season tickets at the new stadium.

FC Tucson, established in 2010, owns FC Tucson Soccer, Tucson’s top-level soccer team, and the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup. In 2012, FC Tucson was named the PDL Rookie Franchise of the Year. Follow FC Tucson at www.fctucson.com.

Kino Sports Complex (www.kinosportscomplex.com) is home to both the Triple-A Tucson Padres baseball team and the FC Tucson soccer club. It is the largest professional sports and entertainment venue of its kind in Pima County.  It includes the 11,000-seat Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, seven baseball fields (four with lights), lighted softball fields, a regulation Soccer Stadium (lighted) and four additional fields for soccer, field hockey, rugby, and lacrosse. It is a natural fit for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional sports; and makes a great setting for social gatherings, concerts, and community events.

Slide 1 of 4.
More than 1,000 kids and adults turned out for Ride On, Tucson! on Sunday, Jan. 20.
Source: Pima County Communications OfficeSlide 2 of 4.
Actor Patrick Dempsey and pro cyclist Tom Danielson let the ride along the 2.2-mile route south of downtown.
Source: Pima County Communications OfficeSlide 3 of 4.
Bicyclists ride through Barrio Viejo during Ride On, Tucson!
Source: Pima County Communications OfficeSlide 4 of 4.
Most bicyclists rode the 2.2-mile route several times Sunday afternoon.
Source: Pima County Communicatons Office

More than 1,000 kids and adults of all ages and abilities on bikes and on foot joined “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey and top American pro cyclist Tom Danielson at the free Ride On, Tucson! bike party in Armory Park on Sunday, Jan. 20.

Bicyclists filled South Sixth Avenue between Armory Park and the Tucson Children’s Museum before Dempsey and Danielson led them on a 2.2-mile loop closed to traffic that extended from Jackson Street to 19^th Street and included South Fifth and South Meyer avenues.

“We’re really proud to be here,” Dempsey told the crowd. He and Danielson and Bicycling Magazine editor-in-chief Peter Flax hatched the idea as a way to celebrate the growth of bicycling in Tucson.

“We want to show what’s unique about cycling,” Danielson said. “Cycling bonds people.”

Dempsey said Mount Lemmon would be on the cover of the next issue of Bicycling Magazine, which reaches 2.5 million people.

Ramón Valadez, chairman of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, who rode alongside County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, reminded the crowd that Outside Magazine ranked Tucson the No. 1 bicycling community in the country.

“We want to be No. 1 in every bicycling magazine in the country,” Valadez said.

Huckelberry said the County is continuing to build The Loop bike and pedestrian paths along the Rillito, Santa Cruz and Pantano rivers and on Julian Wash and Harrison Road greenways. The Loop “is one of the things that makes this a great community,” he said.

The sun shone and the temperature climbed to 75 as riders streamed by on all types of bicycles, including tandems, recumbents, arm-powered cycles and bikes with training wheels. Jovert, Tucson High Magnet School’s steel drum band, and the Determined Luddites filled the park with music. Flax said he met people from Denver and New Mexico on the route, which most cyclists rode several times.

“It’s a celebration just the way Tom and Patrick and I talked about,” Flax said.

The event was organized by Perimeter Bicycling Association of America, Pima County, the City of Tucson, Living Streets Alliance, Ben’s Bells, Downtown Tucson Partnership and Meet Me at Maynards.

For a Bicycling Magazine interview with Dempsey and Danielson about Ride On, Tucson!, visit http://www.bicycling.com/news/featured-stories/patrick-dempsey-and-tom-danielson-want-ride-you. To watch a Bicycling Magazine video of Flax interviewing Dempsey during a magazine cover photo shoot, go to http://bcove.me/qc26v4w7.

A bicyclist rides past a new sign on the Loop along the Rillito River at Camino de la Tierra.

Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation staff are installing 124 new signs on the Rillito River Park portion of The Loop this month. Signs provide directions at intersections and also show distances to points of interest along The Loop.

With the new signs, Loop users can discover ways to reach new destinations via The Loop. “The Loop is the hub of the metropolitan area, it links to almost every one of the jurisdictions,” says County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. “So The Loop becomes the main corridor—for pedestrians, bikes, other alternative transportation modes. It’s a great way to reach any destination, whether you’re going to work, school, restaurants, or shopping.”

Where The Loop crosses major streets, new signs show how to access the street or continue on The Loop beneath underpasses.  The Santa Cruz River Park and Julian Wash Greenway will be the next sections of The Loop to receive signs.

The Loop path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways.  Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or running along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions.  These include the Tanque Verde Wash, the Canada del Oro Wash, and north and south of the Santa Cruz River.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of the Loop or Loop extended paths.

Pima County’s partners in The Loop are: City of Tucson, Town of Marana, Town of Oro Valley, City of South Tucson, Regional Transportation Authority, and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Experience the excitement of horses thundering to the finish line at the track where organized Quarter Horse racing was born.

Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing begins Saturday, Jan. 19, at Rillito Park Race Track, 4502 N. First Ave., and runs for eight weekends through March 17, skipping Super Bowl weekend of Feb. 2-3.

You can even place a bet on any of the eight or nine races each Saturday and Sunday.

Bring the whole family. Children under 12 get in free to the grandstand and clubhouse. The clubhouse offers a full restaurant and bars. Snack and beverage bars are on both levels of the grandstand. And parking is free (valet parking is available).

General admission, including the grandstand                      $5
Clubhouse seating                                                                            $8
Window seating in the grandstand                                          $10
Tables for four along the windows in the grandstand     $20
Tables for four along the windows in the clubhouse       $25

Gates open at 11 a.m. Post time is 1 p.m. Racing ends at 5:30. Each day of racing attracts on average 4,500 enthusiastic fans.

“It’s a fun place to go,” said Pat White, track general manager for the Pima Horsemen’s Association, which operates the winter races under contact with Pima County. “It’s in beautiful shape. It’s in first-class shape. It’s part of our heritage.”

The Rillito Race Track was founded in 1943 by four Tucson-area horsemen – Bob Locke, Mel Haskell, J. Rukin Jelks and Jake Meyer – on Jelks’ ranch north of the Rillito (the Jelks’ house and stables, built in 1940, still stand on the track grounds). Quarter Horse racing was popular; Quarter Horses were bred as work horses that could race on the weekends. Their name comes from their unparalleled speed in quarter-mile races.

The four horsemen created the American Quarter Racing Association to establish regulations and a registry for Quarter Horse racing. They created the “chute” at Rillito Race Track, a straightaway into an oval track upon which all Quarter Horse racing is based. The Rillito “chute” was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

They developed the “photo finish” camera system that helps identify the winner in those “neck and neck” races. And the Rillito was also the first track to have pari-mutuel betting.

Call the track at 520-293-5011 or learn more about it and other family attractions in Southern Arizona online at www.tucsonattractions.com.

You can get to Rillito Park Race Track on The Loop, the bike and pedestrian paths being developed along the Rillito, Santa Cruz and Pantano rivers and on Julian Wash and Harrison Road greenways. For a map, please visit www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry told members of the local hospitality industry on Thursday that re-energizing tourism must be one of the key pillars in stimulating the regional economy.

“We believe very strongly, and will back it up with public investment, that revitalizing tourism is directly related to our economic well-being,” Huckelberry said at the Southern Arizona Lodging & Resort Association’s annual legislative gathering.

Tourism has an annual economic impact of $2 billion locally and employs more than 22,000 people, Huckelberry noted. He applauded the industry for surviving a substantial blow when the funding for the region’s tourism promoter, Visit Tucson, dropped 38 percent since the start of the recession, plummeting from $10 million in fiscal year 2007 to $6.5 million last fiscal year.

But, he said, there must be a focus on bringing those numbers up, which is why Pima County invests 50 percent of its bed tax revenue in tourism promotion.

“Some people might say that funding tourism is kind of frivolous and is not a core responsibility of government,” he said. “What they don’t understand is that a good solid economy, with good solid revenues, creates tax revenues that support the core services of government.”

The County’s Economic Development Plan, endorsed unanimously by the Pima County Board of Supervisors in November, proposes asking voters to invest in new exhibits for some of the region’s most popular attractions. “We have certain attractions that people come to visit that are unique to the Southwest and unique to the community, such as the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and the Pima Air & Space Museum,” he said. “We want to make sure those are world-class attractions.”

Aside from rebuilding the relationship withMexico, the plan also envisions capitalizing on emerging tourism markets, he noted.

Kino Sports Complex, initially built as a spring training facility, has been re-purposed to focus on the growing Major League Soccer and amateur sports market. The complex this year hosts an international soccer game between Canada and Denmark, plus eight soccer spring training matches in January and February that lead up to the 2013 Desert Diamond Cup.

The County is also capitalizing on the bicycling market, he said. A river park trail system, known as “The Loop” has been attracting national attention as the County and its partners try to raise the area’s profile as a bicycling destination, he said.

For more information on the County’s economic development priorities, please visit http://www.pima.gov/econdev/. View the Economic Development Plan at http://www.pima.gov/administration/documents/pdfs/PC_ED_Action_Plan_2012-10-17.pdf

To celebrate the 2012 Arizona Centennial and important places in Pima County that helped shape our state’s history, the Pima County Office of Sustainability and Conservation has prepared bronze plaques for 13 historic sites or districts.

The 13 sites or districts are all listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Arizona Register of Historic Places. Pima County has 166 historic properties or districts listed in the National Register and four National Historic Landmarks. The 13 sites selected for plaques during the state Centennial year are historic properties that Pima County has successfully preserved, rehabilitated and restored through the voter-approved 1997 and 2004 Historic Preservation Bond programs.

These exceptional sites are all accessible to the public and are located throughout Pima County in both rural and urban settings.

The plaques at Steam Pump Ranch, Arivaca School House and Pima County Courthouse have already been installed.

The plaque at the Canoa Ranch Historic District will be dedicated on Feb. 15, 2013. District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll will speak at the dedication.

“I am proud of Pima County’s efforts to preserve and commemorate our community’s rich and diverse history and heritage,” Carroll said this week. “We can learn so much from the struggles and successes of people who came before us. These historic sites continue to be an inspiration for Pima County residents as well as for the many visitors who are drawn to our beautiful Sonoran Desert.”

The dates of the other installations and dedications will be released as they are scheduled.

Steam Pump Ranch

Supervisorial District 1                     Built: 1874                  Listed: 2009

George Pusch and John Zellweger arrived in Tucson in 1874. Shortly thereafter they purchased part of the old Canada del Oro Ranch. They registered the PZ brand and put in a steam pump from which the ranch got its name. Gradually, the ranch expanded to include land along of the San Pedro River between Mammoth and Winkelman. Steam Pump Ranch was a stopover place for travelers in the 19th century. Author Harold Bell Wright was a frequent visitor. The ranch is well-preserved and represents a rare site that has been extensively documented through contemporary accounts and photographs as well as oral histories. The property is in private ownership.

Binghampton Rural Historic Landscape

Supervisorial District 1                     Built: 1898                  Listed: 2003

For many years, the River Bend area of about 400 acres has been part of the scenic qualities associated with River Road, and the area is a community with a long agricultural tradition. Apparently settled and used in prehistoric times by the Hohokam, this area was established as a pioneer Mormon settlement around 1900. Family patriarch Nephi Bingham is generally credited with its founding and the source of its name. Binghampton is also the name for the urban area south of the Rillito River at Dodge and Fort Lowell, and together, both the rural farm community and the more urban subdivision south of the river formed the greater Binghampton area.

Ajo Townsite Historic District

Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1916                  Listed: 2001

The town of Ajo is an example of a planned community built by the Calumet and Arizona Mining Company. In 1914, John C. Greenway, General Manager of the mine, hired several architects to design and build a town for the company’s employees. The plan, inspired by the “City Beautiful” movement of the early 20th century, incorporated landscaping, public facilities and high quality housing to create a pleasing aesthetic for the miners and their families. The town site was dedicated in 1917 and built out through a series of phases over the next 30 years. The plaza was designed to be the central core of the town defined by buildings that enclosed a public space complete with a bandstand.

Also in Ajo:

• Ajo Curley School
  Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1919                  Listed: 2008
• Ajo Train Depot
  Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1916                  Listed: 2001
• Ajo Gymnasium
  Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1937                  Listed: 2008

Robles Ranch House

Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1882                  Listed: 2008

This famous ranch complex was first established by Bernabe Robles in the 1880s, when he ran a stage line from Tucson to Quijota. An adobe stage station and ranch house was constructed sometime between 1880 and 1884. At one time the ranch encompassed more than one million acres between Florence and the Mexican border. The original buildings were single-story adobe structures built in the vernacular “Sonoran” style of the time with a separate open space or breezeway between them. In the 1950s these were joined and additional improvements were made to the property. At present, the ranch house is now characterized by “Territorial” style forms and details. Pima County purchased the property and completed a rehabilitation in 2005, and the building now serves as a community center for the Three Points community.

Arivaca School House

Supervisorial District 3                     Built: 1879                  Listed: 2012

The Arivaca School House was built by Don Pedro Aguirre Jr. in 1874, using adobe bricks, and it served the children of Arivaca until 1953. Aguirre was from Chihuahua, Mexico, became an American citizen in 1855 and, along with all his sons, ran an extensive freighting business. He also served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. The Arivaca School House has since been rehabilitated and continues to serve the community of Arivaca.

Canoa Ranch Historic District

Supervisorial District 4                     Built: 1900                  Listed: 2007

The ranch was first established in 1821 as the San Ignacio de la Canoa Land Grant deeded to Ignacio and Tomas Ortiz, who were forced from the land by the Apaches who burned their homes. The Canoa Ranch was purchased in 1876 by Maish and Driscoll, who raised cattle, owned a stage line, and developed the Canoa Land Company. It was sold in 1912 to Levi H. Manning, who expanded the complex. At its peak, the ranch controlled more than 100,000 acres and provided housing and a school for 35-40 ranch hands and their families. It became a focal location in the Santa Cruz Valley. The Canoa Ranch was divided and sold following the death of Howell Manning Sr. in 1951. The 4,800 acre ranch complex was purchased by Pima County, which is rehabilitating the Ranch headquarters.

Cienega Bridge

Supervisorial District 4                     Built: 1921                  Listed: 1988

The Cienega Bridge was constructed in 1921 as part of the Borderland Highway project across southern Arizona. The bridge is a concrete and reinforced steel structure designed as a medium-span concrete arch with a two-span concrete girder viaduct over a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was one of three virtually identical open-spandrel concrete arches built in Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai counties, although the Cienega bridge has the longest span at 146 feet.

Fort Lowell

Supervisorial District 4                     Built: 1873                  Listed: 1978

Fort Lowell was a supply base for the Apache campaigns between 1873 and 1891. Its primary role was to escort wagon trains, protect settlers, guard supplies, patrol the border and conduct military actions against the Western and Chiricahua Apache. Fort Lowell is now a City park where visitors can tour adobe buildings, visit a museum, and walk through an outdoor exhibit about the prehistoric Hohokam Indians who lived at the site in a large village (called the “Hardy site”) at this same location more than 500 years ago.

Historic structures within the park property include ruins of the hospital, the cavalry quarters, kitchen building, part of the band quarters, and portions of adobe corrals and stables. Three original Officer’s Quarters are located on the west side of Craycroft Road, along with foundations of other buildings including the Guard House.

San Pedro Chapel

Supervisorial District 4                     Built: 1932                  Listed: 1993

The third chapel to occupy this site at 5230 E. Fort Lowell Road was constructed in 1932, replacing its predecessor destroyed in a tornado. The adobe building is attributed to Alonso Hubbard, both its architect and contractor. The chapel served the community of El Fuerte until being sold. In 1995, San Pedro Chapel was rehabilitated by Bob Vint, and in 2005 Pima County applied bond funds for further work and a new chapel support building. The property is now owned by the Old Fort Lowell Neighborhood Association and continues to be a focal point for the community.

Pima County Courthouse

Supervisorial District 5                     Built: 1929                  Listed: 1978

Pima County’s third courthouse, at 115 N. Church Ave., was completed in 1929 with architect Roy Place and contractor Herbert Brown. A southern wing was added in 1955. The third Pima County Courthouse exemplifies Place’s interpretation of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, defined by the space of the arcade and courtyard, as well as through the use of religious building forms and ornament, including a central dome and an elaborate portal facade. Moorish overtones, typical of this style, can be seen in the use of ceramic tiles on the wainscoting, courtyard fountain, and on the dome, whose mosaic form has become a Tucson icon.

Bicyclists use The Loop to reach many destinations in Pima County.

The Metropolitan Pima Alliance presented Pima County a Common Ground Award for The Loop and Share Use Path Extension and Underpass at Cortaro Road. The underpass provides easy off-street access to Wade McLean Park and El Rio Park in Marana. The County received the award in the Public Works category.

“The Loop is a critical asset for the County,” says County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.  “With over 100 miles of off-street paths, it’s a quality of life amenity that can be used to attract high-wage employers to the region.”

“The Loop is the hub of the metropolitan area; it links to almost every one of the jurisdictions. So The Loop becomes the main corridor—for pedestrians, bikes, and other alternative transportation modes. It’s a great way to reach any destination, whether you’re going to work, school, restaurants, or shopping.”

Numerous small businesses have started to pop up along The Loop, thus creating additional economic opportunities for the community.  The Loop provides an accessible place for exercise and recreation.  It also brings to the region biking enthusiasts, bird watchers, and other tourists.  “The League of American Bicyclists calls The Loop a ‘must ride,’ ” says Andy Clarke, League President, who rode in El Tour de Tucson in November and spent an extra day in the area to ride The Loop.

The Loop path encompasses both banks of four major river systems or waterways.  Pima County residents and visitors can enjoy biking, walking, or running along the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Pantano Wash, the Julian Wash and the Harrison Greenway.  The Loop also has path extensions along tributary washes or extensions.  These include the Tanque Verde Wash, the Canada del Oro Wash, and north and south of the Santa Cruz River.

More than one third of the metropolitan population lives within a half mile of The Loop or Loop extensions.

Pima County’s partners in The Loop are: City of Tucson, Town of Marana, Town of Oro Valley, City of South Tucson, Regional Transportation Authority, and the Arizona Department of Transportation.

For more information about The Loop, visit: www.pima.gov/TheLoop.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Canada and Denmark will play the first international soccer “friendly” match in Tucson at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Jan. 26.

The match was announced today by managing members of FC Tucson, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Visit Tucson President and CEO Brent DeRaad and Pima County Supervisor Richard Elías.

Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias participates in a news conference announcing the first international soccer match in Tucson, to be played at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium. Also pictured are, from left, FC Tucson managing partners Rick Schantz, Jonathan Pearlman and Greg Foster.

“Tucson deserves professional sports,” Elías said at a news conference. “Pima County has put its money on the table” to make it possible for FC Tucson to bring “a month long of international sports that’s going to blow people’s mind.”

Pima County is investing $2 million to build five permanent soccer venues north of Ajo Way; two of them will be arenas that will seat 1,000 and 3,000 spectators.

The international match, hosted by FC Tucson, in partnership with Soccer United Marketing (SUM), the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, will be aired live in Denmark, Canada and across Europe.

It will precede nine friendlies that seven Major League Soccer teams will be playing at Kino Sports Complex from Jan. 29 to Feb. 8, followed by the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup at Kino Stadium on Feb. 13, 16, 20 and 23.

Five of the MLS teams participating in the friendlies – Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City – will be training in Tucson. The two other teams – New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders – are also playing in the Desert Diamond Cup with New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake.

The MLS matches will be played at the Kino Sports Complex’s North Field #5, north of Ajo Way.

Tickets will go on sale before the Christmas holidays.

FC Tucson, established in 2010, owns FC Tucson Soccer, Tucson’s top-level soccer team and the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup. Follow FC Tucson at www.fctucson.com.

Kino Sports Complex (www.kinosportscomplex.com) is home to both the Triple-A Tucson Padres baseball team and the FC Tucson soccer club. It is the largest professional sports and entertainment venue of its kind in Pima County.  It includes the 11,000-seat Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, seven baseball fields (four with lights), lighted softball fields, a regulation Soccer Stadium (lighted) and four additional fields for soccer, field hockey, rugby, and lacrosse. With its panoramic view of the Santa Catalina Mountains, it is a natural fit for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional sports. Plus, it makes a great setting for social gatherings, concerts, and community events.

Keep up with Pima County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pimacountyarizona.

Birders: Now’s a good time to do some urban birding at one of Pima County’s environmental restoration projects.

Fall migration hasn’t yet wound down and it’s a common sight to see great egrets and great blue herons at the Kino Environmental Restoration Project, north ofAjo Wayand part of the Kino Sports Complex.

The 141-acre project allows for valuable wildlife viewing opportunities year-round. It entails 28 acres of riparian vegetation and open water, 21 acres of native grassland, flood control features and a recreational path that surrounds the basin.

The project is an important resting stop for migratory birds during their long journeys in the spring and fall. Containing many trees and plants, the riparian area also supports resident birds and otherArizonawildlife species year-round.

Water fowl, such as ducks and grebes, visit in the winter. The spring is great for songbirds and the summer for nesting species, saidPimaCountyenvironmental planning manager Carla Danforth.

In past winters, small groups of flashy diving ducks such as Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, and Buffelheads have been spotted in the wetland.

Birding is often best just after sunrise through mid-morning, Danforth suggested, and then again in the afternoon before the sun sets.

Bird watchers are welcome around the perimeter trail, which is a multiuse, paved path that is available to the community for walking, bicycling, jogging, and wildlife viewing.

Recorded bird calls are not permitted.

Tucson Audubon Society birding field trips sometimes visit KERP. For more information about birds and local birding field trips visit the society’s website at www.tucsonaudubon.org or contact Tucson Audubon Society at 520-629-0510 or info@tucsonaudubon.org.