CSUN NOTEBOOK: DISPUTE STALLS SOFTBALL PROJECT : CONTROVERSY OVER FOOTBALL STADIUM STANDS IN WAY.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

By now, ground was supposed to be broken on the ``Field of Dreams'' softball complex at Cal State Northridge, but the ongoing fight over the location of a proposed football field has stalled the project.

``It's the perception of the football stadium,'' said Steven Soboroff, president of the Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks Commission and a senior adviser to Mayor Richard Riordan. ``I'm letting them run their course.''

Soboroff is the point man in raising the $2 million to build the 1,500-seat facility, which will be used by the CSUN softball team and area youths. Recently, Soboroff secured a $250,000 donation from a local business and said the remaining funds would come from naming rights.

``It would move a little bit faster if they were committed to one specific site,'' Soboroff said. ``They don't want to mix the perception of the women's field with what's going on with the football stadium.''

The site committee for the football field will meet for the final time on Thursday, and it's expected the 12-member panel will recommend to CSUN president Blenda Wilson that the 8,000-seat stadium be placed on the North Campus.

At that point, a determination can be made for the location of the new softball field. Soboroff previously stated the location would be just off Zelzah Avenue between the tennis courts and student dorms. But the field might be built on its current site.

Soboroff said the facility could still be ready for the 2000 season.

Officials in quandary: When former CSUN women's basketball coach Michael Abraham showed up at the Matadors' Jan. 7 game at Portland State, the game officials weren't sure how to handle the situation.

According to Portland State officials, Abraham sat in the third row across from CSUN's bench. But Portland State officials said Abraham spoke to several players at halftime.

The three officials who worked the game - Ernie Yarbrough, Laura Rahe and Rick Showers - did nothing during the game. But a call was placed to Marla Denham, the coordinator of women's officials for the Big Sky Conference.

``The report we got was he was on the floor coaching at halftime,'' Big Sky assistant commissioner Ron Loghry said.

However, Loghry said further inquiries didn't find Abraham was on the floor coaching during the game.

Abraham resigned from CSUN in November in the wake of being indicted on drug-trafficking charges by the FBI, but the case is pending.

``He hasn't been found guilty of anything, so he can be at the game,'' Loghry said.

Searching for a redshirt: Football coach Ron Ponciano said CSUN is looking into the possibility of petitioning the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility for junior nose guard Sean Beard.

Beard suffered a season-ending broken leg in the first quarter of the Matadors' fourth game of the season.

According to NCAA rules, a player is eligible for a medical redshirt if he/she played in 25 percent or less of his/her team's games.

Though Beard played in more than 25 percent, Ponciano said he's hopeful the NCAA will grant Beard an exception because the injury took place in the first quarter on ``an illegal block.''

Beard broke the leg against Southern Utah when he was the victim of an illegal chop block.

Volleyball redshirts: Men's volleyball coach Jeff Campbell said former Daily News first-team pick Jeff Toon, a Kennedy High product and a freshman with the Matadors, is slated to redshirt this season.

Sophomore Omer Samiri, a Chatsworth High and Pierce College product, is scheduled to undergo major shoulder surgery. Campbell is hopeful Samiri can return next season.

Also, one-time Royal High star Steve Russell hasn't been cleared to play.

``There's eligibility problems he has to get cleared up,'' Campbell said. ``It has nothing to do with his high school grades.''