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CLEARWATER - The soccer teams have to use a parking lot for a practice field. And football games are stacked one on top of another all day long.
Every weekend and on most nights, the four fields at the Countryside Sports Complex north of Countryside High School are bulging with children from across mid and north Pinellas County.
There's a solution, but it's costly - build a $2.8-million, six-field complex across the street.
City officials say they have enough room for Clearwater residents at the old facility. It's the children from Safety Harbor and the unincorporated parts of Pinellas County who have created the predicament.
Their governments should chip in for the fix, Clearwater leaders say.
And if they don't, city officials have made it clear: The children could be locked out.
"The unincorporated residents are Pinellas County government's responsibility," said city Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar. "We are responsible for the residents of the city of Clearwater. It has never been our intent to preclude anyone. That's why we are going out and trying to forge these partnerships."
The city has asked the county to pay $1.05-million toward the expansion and $75,000 a year for operating expenses. Safety Harbor officials have already pledged that amount, while Clearwater has said it would swallow the remaining costs, which includes providing the land.
In return, County Administrator Steve Spratt has offered $700,000 for construction, which roughly translates to the percentage of the project equal to the participation of county children. Spratt said the county will not pay operating expenses, but will make county grant opportunities available to the city instead.
If the a deal cannot be reached, Dunbar said the city will renovate its current fields and then set a quota to limit usage. Safety Harbor and Clearwater residents will have priority, Dunbar said.
That seems like an ultimatum, Spratt said.
"I don't know how you do that," said Spratt, who has worked toward an agreement for two years. "My kid plays soccer in this county. I know how these things work. I don't know how you take a soccer team or a football team and say, "You four kids are off; don't show up tomorrow.' It seems awfully callous."
More than 1,500 children participate in soccer, football and cheerleading at the sports complex. Of them, about one third reside in Clearwater, 27 percent come from Safety Harbor and 25 percent come from Pinellas County. The rest come from outside Pinellas County.
For now, anyone can play, but non-Clearwater residents are forced to pay an additional fee, $30 for football, $80 for soccer.
Under the proposed new arrangement, the city would build a bigger complex on nearby city-owned land, which is now used as a driving range. Once construction is complete, the teams and the driving range would switch spaces.
The city would then waive the additional fees for nonresidents.
If the county can't agree on terms, the teams would stay put, and quotas would be set.
The current space is cramped, said John Schroeder, president of the Countryside Junior Cougars football club. But Schroeder said telling children they can't play is a desperate remedy.
"I do not like to turn any kid away, period," Schroeder said. "I could not imagine telling a 7-year-old he couldn't play here because he lives in Palm Harbor. That's why we're here in the first place. We're doing it for the kids."
Both Schroeder and Stephen Heller, past president of the Countryside Youth Soccer Association, said the county should help offset the city's costs for construction. Spratt agrees. He said the $700,000 contribution would be the county's largest for a recreation program since he became administrator.
"We ought to focus on the kids first and not on taking an inflexible, intransigent position," Spratt said. "It's a gun to our heads. It's a gun to our kids' heads."
Clearwater City Manager Bill Horne said his job is to look out for the residents of Clearwater first.
"We have an obligation to our own taxpayers," Horne said. "If we don't pursue our citizens' interests in this, who is?"
Spratt recently sent Horne an e-mail expressing his disappointment in Clearwater's stance, the tone of which frustrated some City Council members.
"With the county "subsidizing' $10-million for the Memorial Causeway, $13-million for the Bright House stadium and over $30-million into your expanded (downtown redevelopment plan), yes it is a slap in the face to say you're going to walk away from the highest county contribution to a city park development and kick . . . kids out after they have been paying your premium nonresident fees," Spratt wrote.
Horne responded less than two hours later.
"I drafted a response to you . . . I later decided there was no need to make you angrier," Horne wrote. "We never knew we "had' to connect the dots in the manner that you described."
Heller, the soccer club past president, said a settlement is crucial for his teams. Not only do they need new space, cutting out kids from certain areas will affect the club's ability to remain competitive.
The city should come closer to the county on capital costs for the project, Heller said. As for operational costs, the county should make payments on the order of the amount it saves in waived nonresident fees, which the county already reimburses.
It wouldn't be that different, he said.
"We're well within eyesight of the finish line here, to have this thing go away would be a real crying shame," he said. "I'm fully cognizant of the fear the county has, which is precedent. But I don't think they can shy away from these types of relationships.
"At some point, that precedent is going to have to be set."
Aaron Sharockman can be reached at 727 445-4160 or asharockman@sptimes.com