3-A ATHLETES DESERVE BETTER TREATMENT.

Byline: Gary Washburn

This is what you work all year for, to play in a championship game at Cal State Los Angeles.

Something sounds funny, like the words, "Cal State Los Angeles" instead of "Sports Arena" or "Pauley Pavilion."

Tonight, the City Section 3-A boys' final between area rivals Canoga Park and Van Nuys and the girls' final between Chatsworth and Dorsey will be played at Cal State L.A.

Unlike the 4-A finals, which will be played at the Sports Arena on Saturday, the 3-A games are relegated to a Division II college site for a number of reasons.

In the late '80s, the City Section 3-A and 4-A semifinals and finals were played at the Sports Arena, like the Final Four.

That was then, and we know the Sports Arena is charging the City Section to use its facilities, mainly because of security costs. But it sends an unfair message now to have the 3-A games at one spot and the 4-A games at another.

There are many reasons why the City Section has had trouble with a permanent site.

First, there has been a lack of organization by the City and the Sports Arena in agreeing to a contract. While the Southern Section has the newly built Anaheim Arena and Pyramid as its sites, the City Section has an annual one-year contract with the Sports Arena.

Let's be honest: The City Section does as much good for the Sports Arena as the Sports Arena does for the City Section. It not only brought bad publicity to the City Section when last year's title games were played at Cal State Dominguez Hills - which drew overflow but uncomfortable crowds - but it was bad for the Sports Arena, whose management decided to up the price of the facility.

How about a five-year contract to play the game at the Sports Arena, and if those guys won't go for it, how about the Forum, which gets ignored when it comes to major prep events?

Differences between the City and Southern sections are the most distinct when it comes to playoff sites. While Southern Section players look forward to playing at the Anaheim Arena or the Pyramid, the Canoga Park, Van Nuys, Dorsey and Chatsworth kids play at Cal State Los Angeles. Nothing against CSULA, but it isn't appropriate for a championship game.

The City Section needs to start preparing a site right now for the '97 playoffs. While the City 3-A baseball title game is played at beautiful Dodger Stadium, the basketball game gets second billing.

The primary reason the City can afford to hold the baseball game at Dodger Stadium is because stadium officials give the City such a good deal. It's great publicity for the Dodgers, even though the stadium is nowhere near filled.

Also, the All-City baseball team gets honored before a Dodgers game, giving the elite ballplayers a chance to bask in the spotlight.

City Section commissioner Barbara Fiege has done an admirable job providing respectable sites for City championship games and she is making progress. But she can't do it alone. Local pro teams need to kick in some money to help City athletics. The Clippers are helping out this year, subsidizing the cost of the Sports Arena and allowing prep fans to attend the Clippers game Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.

It's not that the Southern Section has exponentially more money for sites than the City, it's that stadiums and arenas give the Southern Section premium rates because it improves community relations.

The UCLA men's basketball team is out of town this weekend and I'm sure Fiege could fit the City title game around the UCLA women's schedule at Pauley Pavilion. It's time for someone to step up and help out, without profit and greed being the first priority.

Just because 3-A basketball is at a lower level doesn't mean the participating schools should be treated like second-class citizens. Even Southern Section Division V Montclair Prep gets to play its title game at the modernized UC Irvine Bren Center. And if Montclair Prep wins, it will get a favorable seed in the state tournament. The 3-A champion gets to go home because it's not allowed into the state tournament.

The least we can do is provide these athletes with a memorable place to play their last high school game, isn't it?