Consulting firm hired for proposed Brooklyn sports complex.

The Brooklyn Sports Foundation has retained Washington square Partners, Inc., a development consulting firm headed by Brooklyn veterans Paul Travis and Terry Stanley, to coordinate with New York State and New York City the construction of The Sportsplex indoor amateur athletic facility in Coney Island, announced Foundation Chair Peter Kiernan.

"Paul Travis and Terry Stanley were instrumental in development of MetroTech in Downtown Brooklyn and have the dedication, experience and understanding of City and State government to help guide The Sportsplex to completion," Kiernan said.

Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani each have committed $30 million to construction of The Sportsplex, and Borough President Howard Golden has committed an additional $7 million. The New York City Council has authorized spending the first $8 million of the city funds in the current fiscal year.

Washington square Partners will be responsible for:

* Completing a development agreement under which the city and state will direct these committed funds to the Brooklyn Sports Foundation as developer of The Sportsplex;

* Advising The Foundation as it hires contractors to design and build The Sportsplex;

* Assisting in negotiations with the city and state to designate the exact site for The Sportsplex at the former Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, and to make that land available to The Foundation.

"We welcome the opportunity to work on such an exciting project. The Sportsplex is an important asset for the entire city and brings new impetus to the ongoing work by local leaders and Borough President Golden to revitalize Coney Island," Travis said.

Washington square Partners, founded in 1994, has served as development consultants for projects such as the 42nd Street Development Corp.'s mixed-use theater and residential complex, and a retail and entertainment complex in Jamaica, Queens.

Also working on the Sportsplex are the Brooklyn law firm of Cullen & Dykman, TAMS Consultants, Inc., and the Albany law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle.

The Sportsplex will be dedicated to indoor scholastic, inter-collegiate and amateur athletics, and could accommodate 12 events simultaneously, with: an arena for track and field, basketball or ice hockey with 12,300 seats; a gymnasium accommodating 2,000 spectators; a multi-purpose room for a variety of sports; a boxing gym; training arenas; and a sports medicine center.

With state-of-the-art radio and TV equipment, The Sportsplex will be fully wired, so all events can be transmitted by broadcast and cable. This radio and TV capacity will provide and additional revenue source to offset operating costs, and an additional educational venue for students studying communications.

The 11-acre Steeplechase Park in Coney Island is served by mass transportation, including three subway lines, and has available the 6.6 acres of land needed. According to the developers, the Sportsplex will help to revitalize Coney Island; provide economic stimulus; create 1,500 immediate construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs once complete; and improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers, especially children.

The New York City Boards of Education and Higher Education will be the principal users of Sportsplex, with school teams training and competing there. Over 90 percent of the events will be non-commercial, generating maximum benefit to amateur, civic and scholastic programs.

Educational, civic and amateur sports groups that will use The Sportsplex include:

* Major colleges and universities such as Brooklyn College, St. Francis College, Fordham and St. John's Universities and Manhattan College, which need an alternative to small on-campus sites and Madison square Garden, which is expensive to rent, hard to fill and which must give priority to professional sports;

* The City University of New York Athletic Conference, which would use the facilities year-round for junior varsity, varsity and intramural competitions and championship meets;

* The New York City Public Schools Athletic League, the largest interscholastic sports program in the world, which needs sites for thousands of basketball, track and field, gymnastics, wrestling, volleyball and tennis competitions each year;

* The Women's Sports Foundation, which provides opportunities for young girls to participate in sports and fitness, and would use the facilities for its diverse organized events;

* The Empire State Games, the largest amateur sports program in the country, which would use the complex as a central location for New York City and statewide competition in 27 sports.

Other groups who will benefit from The Sportsplex include amateur clubs, associations, federations, civic sports entities such as the Police Athletic League and Catholic Youth Organization and "Corporate" leagues.

The Sportsplex also will give added momentum to New York City's bid to host future Olympic Games.

To guarantee that the facility covers its own operating costs, there will be a limited number of commercial uses such as professional or semi-pro athletic competition; entertainment, such as concerts and the circus; and trade shows and expositions.