Thieves broke into a storage room at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex on Sunday or early yesterday and stole golf carts, soccer gear and other items worth several thousand dollars.

The break-in was discovered early yesterday morning when teams from the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association returned to the park for the third day of a state championship tournament.

The stolen items included soccer balls and nets and two golf carts, one of which was found yesterday on the adjacent Ted Makalena Golf Course.

Also reported stolen were an electric generator and coolers full of kalua pig, shave ice syrups and other food being sold during the tournament by the Pearl City Sonics team as a fundraising effort to send the team to Japan. Cases of juice and soda being sold by the Mililani Abunai club were also taken.

Soccer association President Scott Keopuhiwa said “;for this much stuff to be taken from so many lockers, there had to been a number of people involved, and it had to take a lot of time.”;

“;We don't want to speculate too much, but the park is supposed to have 24-hour security”; under a contract between the city and the private security firm, he said. “;We are third party to that. We will be asking the city how we can file claims or if there is insurance coverage,”; said Keopuhiwa, also coach of the Leahi soccer club.

Team members had left the complex at 8 p.m. Sunday and arrived at about 6 a.m. yesterday to find the door of the storage building broken, possibly with a crowbar, with pieces of the wooden door on the ground, Keopuhiwa said.

He said the golf carts are valued at about $2,000 each, and the generator is worth about $1,200. The recovered cart had been damaged, with wiring ripped out.

Lockers used by the American Youth Soccer Association and men's and women's leagues had also been entered. Details were not available on what was missing.

Officers with the Pearl City district are investigating the burglary.