Softball players know that local diamonds are a girl's best friend, especially after a three-month wait.
By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published April 6, 2003
NEW TAMPA - Finding enough athletic fields is its own competitive sport in this growing community, but the plight of New Tampa Little League is such that even its rivals are sympathetic.
"Those guys are really feeling the pinch," said Dennis O'Connor, incoming president of the New Tampa Soccer Association. "They accepted registrations, and they have no place for the kids to play. I feel kind of sorry for them, to tell you the truth."
Relief is in sight now that the New Tampa Community Park has opened. Organizers last week looked forward to softball there on Saturday - three months after the city told league officials that the diamonds would be available.
"We finally have a little room," said league vice president Dave Weber. "It's been very difficult telling these girls that there was no space for them to play."
The league's 65 softball players have been playing, but on fields in Plant City, Weber said.
The shortage of fields is frustrating because it was unexpected. The city promised the league that the diamonds at the new $5-million park next to Freedom High School would be ready by January. The league drew up schedules for its 700 players on the premise that it could play on those four diamonds, as well as three diamonds at a park on Kinnan Street and two more fields at Pride Elementary School.
But when the first pitch was thrown in February, the fields at the New Tampa Community Park weren't ready. They looked ready, but the Hillsborough County School District wouldn't release the fields to the city until the contractor was finished.
The holdup happened, in part, because the city and School Board had agreed to build the park together. Freedom High and Liberty Middle School needed land, and the city needed the school district to spend about $4-million on construction. Once the park was complete, the schools were to turn it over to the city to manage.
"What the city asked us to build was quite expensive," Jack Davis, the school district's chief information and technology officer. "So we had a number of corrections we needed to make. So that slowed the construction. We had to redefine the scope of work, and we'd send documents over to them, and we would wait. It takes time to respond."
Scrapped was a $438,000 building that would house restrooms and a concession stand. The city and school district say they are trying to find the money to build that later.
About $3-million was spent on the fields, drainage, fencing and electrical work. About $350,000 was spent on the four softball fields, with another $150,000 for the eight dugouts. About $1-million was spent on sprinklers, paving and landscaping. Engineering, architectural and legal fees cost another $500,000.
Another delay happened when the city was late erecting the light poles for the fields, Davis said. By February, the poles lay on the playing fields.
"They posed a real threat," Davis said. "You don't want folks getting hurt on those."
And Wayne Papy, the city's recreation director, said the school district refused to accept responsibility for kids playing on the fields until the contractor had finished. It was only last week that the city, under pressure from league officials, convinced the school district to allow the league to use the field.
"We twisted a few arms," Papy said with a laugh.
Papy said the rest of the 40-acre park, which includes four soccer fields, won't open until later this spring.
With the schedules already complete, Weber said the new field won't be much help this season, which ends in May.
"But we'll at least have it for next season," Weber said. "Every little bit helps."
