Bartlett police charge 2 players in soccer game brawl

An adult soccer game in Bartlett wasn't exactly a friendly match, as police say rough play resulted in two arrests.

Two Hanover Park men were each charged with misdemeanor battery after a fistfight broke out at the game, sending two players with cuts and bruises to Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Sgt. Michael McGuigan said.

Omar Chavez, 29, of 2348 Glendale Terrace, and Reynaldo Cruz, 51, of 6831 Church St., were arrested last week, a day after the fight, McGuigan said. The men attacked two male opponents during the game, he said, and witnesses told police the fight started over rough play.

It happened around 3 p.m. June 29 on the fields at Nature Ridge Elementary. Several players ran away before police showed up, McGuigan said.

"To be honest, that was the first time we ever heard they were playing there," he said.

Elgin Area School District U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders said the game's organizers, Hoffman Estates-based Grand Sports Arena, had proper approval to play at Nature Ridge, paying $345 to rent the field on weekends from May 11 to June 29.

"After we heard word about the fight, those privileges were taken away," Sanders said.

Chavez and Cruz are due in court Aug. 18.

Grand Sports Arena organizes sports leagues that play around the suburbs from Rolling Meadows to Carpentersville.

Just this week, the Hoffman Estates Village Board denied Grand Sports Arena's request to extend its closing time from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. That facility includes a bar and indoor sports fields.

Hoffman Estates Mayor William McLeod said allowing liquor sales at a later hour was a factor in the vote. Owner Armando Gamboa does have a license to sell liquor until 3 a.m. but can't activate that without village approval of the extended hours.

In a village memo, Hoffman Estates Police Chief Clinton Herdegen said there were 108 police calls at the facility from 2006 to May 2008, including alarms, theft, vehicle lockouts, injuries from games, noise complaints and batteries, including two calls for aggravated battery.

Grand Sports officials have said they need longer hours to accommodate a growing roster of registered teams competing for practice times. Youth leagues, the Arena Football League's Chicago Rush and the National Lacrosse League's Chicago Shamrox also use the facility for practice.