When Ben Pecora wants to get something done, he’s not hesitant about being creative.

Case in point: In 1995, when talk of an open-air stadium in downtown Seattle was being bandied about, Pecora, then working as the marketing communications officer for the Seattle Sounders, was part of a group trying to get funding for a 10,000-seat natural grass soccer stadium.

When he discovered Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s office was across from the Sounders’ office in Bellevue, Pecora made a copy of the dimensions of the pitch out of the FIFA soccer rulebook, walked it over to Allen’s office with his business card and dropped it off with a secretary.

“I said, “Whoever’s in charge of this thing, they’ve got to consider this, ’cause otherwise they’re going to miss the boat on this opportunity,” Pecora said.

A month later, Mike Flood, one of Allen’s people, came over and said they were interested in the project, which turned into Qwest Field, the current home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Sounders.

“There’s a lot of the same things I see now with NASCAR,” Pecora said. “That grassroots involvement and that high political involvement.”

Now, he gets to bring that same drive to the Kitsap Peninsula.

A longtime resident of Kitsap County and a islander for 10 years, Pecora was recently named the director of the Kitsap Sports Council by the Kitsap Peninsula Visitors and Convention Bureau.

He replaces the previous director who is moving to the Tri-Cities.

The KSC is an arm of the bureau and is responsible for “enhancing the lives of peninsula residents while expanding tourism through sports and sporting events in the region,” according to a press release.

Pecora has been doing his fair share with sports, coordinating events and fundraising. He is a former writer and editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and has relationships with every pro sports team in Seattle.

He has managed his own public relations and media business for the past five years and does consulting and fund-raising work.

Pecora also was part of a group that helped bring Manchester United and Celtic together for an exhibition game at Qwest Field in 2003 and was involved with the Seahawks stadium initiative.

He organized several charitable events, including the Merrill Lynch Invitational charity golf tournament and events for Children’s Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Pecora has been heavily involved with the Washington Youth Soccer Association and recently ended his board term with the Bainbridge Island Youth Soccer Club.

He also is a Little League and youth soccer coach.

Pecora found out about the KSC director job through an ad in a newspaper.

A friend called him 10 minutes later after looking at that same ad and told him he should go for it.

“It’s a good fit (for me),” he said.

The KSC has been in existence only since March.

“They’ve talked about it for a long time and now it’s off the ground,” he said. “Part of my battle is funding the office and growing the office so we can do more.”

Pecora will be in charge of trying to get several big name events over to the Kitsap Peninsula and provide them with planning assistance such as coordinating hotels and tours of the site, promotional items and publicity for their events.

He also wants to take advantage of what he sees as the peninsula’s untapped resources.

His plans include assisting existing groups such as the West Sound Saints and the Kitsap Bluejackets, strengthening the relationships in the business community, building more fields for youth sports and generally being a resource so that people can avail themselves on the peninsula’s gifts.

For more information, visit www.sportskitsap.com.