Building a recreation center in Little Tokyo would serve many varied purposes. It would help to support the businesses in Little Tokyo and downtown; it would provide a recreational space for young people and families to frequent; it would be a major tournament center for volleyball, basketball, and the martial arts; it would provide space for a senior citizen nutrition and fitness program; and space for community arts programs. But who would actually get to use such a facility? Herein are some principles on how the Little Tokyo Recreation Center should be utilized to ensure broad community participation.

The recreation center shall be a multi-faceted facility that will draw participants from throughout the region and will thereby help to improve the economic vitality of the Little Tokyo neighborhood which has been in decline since the civil unrest of 1992. Little Tokyo has been the social and cultural center of the Japanese American community for over 100 years.

The recreation center shall be a resource for the many sports leagues that exist within the Japanese American community that are in great need of affordable venues for practice, competitions, and tournaments. The recreation center shall also respond to a wide range of other needs within the local area represented by the youth, seniors, and a diverse spectrum of other users from the downtown region.

The programming of the recreation center should be overseen by a community-based board of directors which represents a broad cross-section of the Little Tokyo and Japanese American community as well as the various neighborhoods of the downtown area surrounding Little Tokyo. This would constitute a diverse board which would responsively and fairly oversee the recreation Center program. The Little Tokyo Recreation Center is committed to the principle that the users of the recreation center should be reflective of the diverse community in which we live.