MURRIETA -- A series of small hang-ups have delayed by six months the beginning of construction for a local teen hangout.

Construction of the proposed Murrieta Teen Center, a $1.8 million facility to be built near California Oaks Sports Park, was scheduled to begin in September. According to a revised timeline, however, work on building the 7,500-square-foot center won't begin until at least March, city officials said.

"Sometimes, some of the things (required to be complete before construction can start) take a little bit longer than expected," said Debbie Tharp, community services manager for the city. "And that will throw a few things off."

A delay in receiving the results of a required soil analysis set off a series of smaller delays that has pushed the start of construction back, Tharp said.

In March, Tharp said, the plans should be ready to be put out to bid for construction labor, she said.

Tharp said the hiccups in the paperwork process leave the plans still in the design phase. City planners are working on reconfiguring a plan for reasonable traffic flow and parking needs. The new schedule anticipates the center will open in February 2010.

Otherwise, Tharp said, the plans remain the same.

The 7,500-square-foot center is scheduled to be built in two phases. The first phase will consist of the main building, which will offer classroom space, a kitchen, a computer room, a multipurpose room with a television and pool and foosball tables.

A gymnasium will be built during the second phase.

While the Boys & Girls Club, which is located on site at the sports park, tailors its programs to young students, the center is envisioned as a venue for teenagers and middle school students to hang out after school. Its location is considered ideal because it's not far from Shivela Middle School, city recreation leaders have said.

Members of the city's Youth Advisory Commission, a group of high school students who offer their opinions on getting teens involved, have said the center will offer a permanent location for city-sponsored events such as dances, open mic nights or comedy shows, which in the past have been held at the city's Community Center.

Also, teenagers kicking back at the sports park have said that the call of pool tables, big-screen TVs and a recreation room where they can be themselves would tempt them away from the streets where many of them now hang out after school.

But Brandon Harrison, the city's teen coordinator who would run the center, sees the space as more than just a place for kids to "come hang out and gossip."

Harrison said he and other city leaders will meet later this month to discuss ideas for programs to be held at the center. Harrison said he hopes to start co-ed sports teams for basketball and volleyball. But his first priority when the center opens, he said, would be to immediately start a Friday night open mic series.

"We have a lot of kids in the area who do poetry and are musically talented," he said. "So we're going to give them that opportunity to show it."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.