The Hyde Park Softball Fields get less care than others because it is a standalone field, according to parks official.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published August 15, 2003
When Carri Davis played a softball game at the Greco Softball Complex near the University of South Florida recently, she was impressed.
There was no dog waste in the outfield. The infield wasn't soft and sandy. And the bases were solidly rooted to the ground.
Not her usual playing field.
Davis, who has played softball at the Hyde Park Softball Fields for about two years, realized that not all city parks are treated equal.
So the 26-year-old penned a letter to Tampa's parks and recreation director Ross Ferlita, asking him to clean up the Hyde Park field at Albany and Swann avenues.
"... (I have) become increasingly concerned about their conditions and the inevitability of someone becoming injured," she wrote. "One would expect an up and coming, newly restored, high property value area, such as Hyde Park, to have a well-maintained and appealing field that represents its surrounding homes and businesses."
In addition to the dog droppings and field conditions, Davis cited other problems, such as holes in the ground and unstable bases - "all of which create a situation that is nothing short of dangerous," she wrote.
Davis attached signatures from more than three dozen people to back up her concerns.
"I honestly would just like to see it made safe and kept to the same standard as the other city-run fields," she said.
Ferlita acknowledges that the park, about 40 years old, needs to be cleaned, but the problems are "not as serious as it appears to be."
He explained that the Hyde Park location, which recreation departments use for league play and outside groups rent out, has no staff because it is a standalone field.
Workers tend to the Greco complex daily because there are several fields and a concession stand. The Hyde Park location also has a smaller field for children.
"We don't have enough staff to be there everyday," Ferlita said. "We go by there periodically, every couple of weeks, and do some work on it."
The field will be shut down for about a week in the near future so that workers can spruce it up, Ferlita said.
"They play in it day after day after day," he said. "We don't have time to fix it the way it needs to be fixed."
