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We need our space, teams say

Playing fields are at a premium for recreation leaguers, and coaches are venting.

By STEPHANIE HAYES
Published November 10, 2006

The presidents of Hillsborough County's youth athletic leagues are fed up and ready for change. Fortunately, so is the county.

The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation department, in the first stage of developing a parks master plan, is holding meetings Wednesday and Thursday, in Ruskin and Tampa.

The reception from the community might be as chilly as the one county officials got last week at a similar meeting in Tampa. Leaders from baseball, softball, football and soccer leagues in Brandon, Valrico, Dover and some Tampa neighborhoods turned out to vent frustrations.

Crowded facilities

Most agreed that there isn't enough space for practices and games.

Gil Napolitano, president of Keystone Little League, said he has 63 teams that play on seven fields at Ed Radice Park in Tampa. And, he said, new housing developments are flooding his program with kids.

"Growth is going higher and higher and nothing is being done in the recreation department," he said.

In Westchase, soccer association president Margot Pinheiro has tried repeatedly to find field space for her 600 members.

Pinheiro said the field where the kids practice now is rutted with holes.

"It's unsafe," she said. "We can't even have games there - barely practices."

Parks department director Mark Thornton said Westchase is the only "big" neighborhood in the county without an athletic facility.

"Field allocation is a huge issue," Thornton said. "I could have Westchase drive down to Wimauma and give them field space, but I can't do that."

Shoddy maintenance

Some wondered why the county pays to maintain only Vance Vogel Park in Riverview, Shimberg Park in Town 'N Country, Radice Park and various Town 'N Country parks.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense," acknowledged Thornton, who said the master plan needs to address that issue.

Some parents are unhappy with the current maintenance.

Kim Stubbs, president of Brandon Leaguerettes softball, cited a recent traffic crash near a Valrico facility. Stubbs said glass and debris from the accident still litter the ground.

"They've raked the fields twice and they just can't get it through their heads - you're moving the glass around," she said. "No one is going to want their daughters running around on glass."

Others spoke of mosquito and ant problems at local parks, some so severe that parents have spray-painted ant mounds so children don't step in them.

Unused fields

Some presidents were frustrated that fields at many public high schools sit empty at night while youth teams scramble for places to practice.

"Why do they not use those schools?" Napolitano asked. "You can't tell me you're not all Hillsborough County and you can't do something."

Thornton said high school principals are ultimately the ones who make those calls.

"We go (on our) hands and knees begging to the schools," he said.

What's the solution?

Throughout the meeting, staffers from a planning firm in charge of formulating the master plan recorded the audience comments.

The input will help the county determine the best way to use existing parks and assess how many new fields are needed.

Sandy Beckett, president of TNC Packer Football, which practices at Leto High School, said a spirit of unity would help.

Already on the horizon? Three soccer fields and a football field to be built in place of a tree farm at Oscar Cooler Park in Lutz. The project may be completed by spring 2008.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5303.

FAST FACTS

Want to chime in?

The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation department will hold two more public meetings on the master plan. They are 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the South Shore Regional Service Center, 410 30th St. in Ruskin and Thursday at the Progress Village Recreation Center, 8701 Progress Village Blvd. in Tampa. 813 975-2160.

[Last modified November 9, 2006, 11:27:23]