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2 Little Leagues shut down

Thunderdome and Pinellas Park American cite a lack of support.

By LAURA LEE
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 15, 2003

ST. PETERSBURG -- In his 25 years as an administrator with Little League District 5 in South Pinellas, Larry Smith has never seen a program fold.

Until now.

Both Thunderdome Little League, which served an area covering downtown St. Petersburg, and Pinellas Park American Little League, which covered southwest Pinellas Park, have gone out of business. Neither league could maintain support from its community, Smith said. Dusty Kersey, an active parent with Pinellas Park American for the past six years, said that five parents came to the league's meeting about two months ago.

"We couldn't get volunteers," said Kersey, whose daughter plays softball and son plays baseball. "A handful of us ran it for the last two years and we couldn't do it anymore."

Several leagues are absorbing the area left by Pinellas Park American and Thunderdome. The new boundaries were announced at a District 5 meeting Monday night. Smith said borderlines were redrawn based on proximity.

Pinellas Park American's territory has been divided among neighboring leagues Pinellas Park National, Northwest and Meadowlawn. Baypoint and Azalea grew north and south, respectively, to encompass Thunderdome. District 5 is now 12 leagues instead of 14.

Smith has had to adjust the borders in previous years because of changes in population, but this is the first time he has had to do it for this reason.

"This is not a joyful occasion," Smith said, adding he knows he can't force people to volunteer.

Many point to a lack of parent participation, but Kersey also attributes his league's demise to competing organizations. Children have options to play for AAU and Pony leagues.

One of Thunderdome's major problems was low child participation. Last year, the league fielded just a few teams.

"That was a real struggle year-to-year as to whether they were going to have one team, two teams, three teams," Smith said. "They never grew."

A group approached the district last fall with a proposal to take over Thunderdome, but Smith said the group never completed the application and charter process and the deal fell through. No one from Thunderdome could be reached Tuesday for comment.

With registration continuing, officials aren't expecting a large influx of children from the additional area.

Rich D'Alessandro, the player agent for Baypoint, said his league's territory has increased by one-third, about 22 blocks north. He is posting signs in the new area this week, advertising registration, but doesn't expect immediate results. Still, with new families and businesses, he is optimistic.

"Long-term, I see an impact in increasing our potential sponsors and player membership," D'Alessandro said.

Meadowlawn president Tom Carson sent out letters to the families who participated in the old league. Carson said with other outlets to compete with, he doesn't know how many players will join Meadowlawn.

Two children he can count on moving over are Kersey's son and daughter. Kersey said he is looking forward to being active in his new league. He is even thinking about joining the board and coaching.

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