$400,000 for boys baseball field, $27,000 for girls softball field.

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Aug 23, 2016
359
43
There's a Pony baseball league in our area that rents their fields from the city for $1 per year while DD's softball league had to sue the city just to find a field to rent (which costs a whole lot more than $1 per year). It's crazy.

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TMD

Feb 18, 2016
433
43
While that particular HS softball field isn't terrible, the discrepancy between it and the school's baseball facility is glaringly obvious. Would love to see more done to bring a bit more parity. Another HS in Naperville has softball fields that are managed/maintained by the city, but baseball fields that are managed/maintained by the school district. The difference between those two are even more glaring.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
There was an interesting (non publicized) discussion locally a few years back. A local benefactor wanted to donate money in order to install lights on the baseball field. The local sports group (which manages baseball and softball) brought it up at a meeting. Those responsible for softball had a fit and insisted that lights be installed on the softball field as well. The benefactor was notified of the discussion and decided to donate his money to another group instead.

I understand the inequalities and agree that changes are needed, but sometimes people are their own worst enemies.
 

marriard

Not lost - just no idea where I am
Oct 2, 2011
4,312
113
Florida
It is tough... if you are going to use public funds then you better have some sort of equity. It is also amazing how fast the school districts find funds when someone has the guts to call the on it publicly like in this article. All of a sudden there is a reason why it hasn't happened yet but it will. It just requires someone to stand up.

However, when we allow boosters and booster clubs to supplement programs it becomes so much more grey. There is no easy solution in the way it is set up.

As I have said before, our elite sports through school system & travel is stupid and archaic. It hurts participation, puts up unecessary cost barriers and sets a very young age for when you never play again even if you want to.
 
Jun 10, 2010
554
28
midwest
Good timing..haven’t checked-in the forum in a while and….me and the wife were just talking about what I was doing at this time last year….and what I did was go through this process of building a High School softball field on campus.

Spent my whole summer last year doing this field…..spent a couple years prior just trying to get it started.

I was the chairman of a group of parents, coaches….. to raise funds, raise in kind donations and worked on this field after we had been given permission to use an old baseball practice field/football parking lot for the softball team.

It was a challenge to say the least between the work it took, the school, the city and other people…. but we were able to get it done and the girls have a field of their own…on campus! This was phase 1 completed.

We took another route than that parent did. We didn’t bring up Title IX and tried to keep it as positive as possible. At times some parents would start the Title IX discussions…especially when things weren’t happening or moving forward…and we would ask them to refrain from it. Not that they weren’t correct imo…but we needed the community leaders, the school officials and the influential city people …and keeping everything positive was a key, IMO. There were enough nay sayers about it… some who fought it behind the scenes…and we had our hands full there.

The girls had been playing/practicing at a rented city field too.

I am very proud of the field and the people that supported it. Yes...It took WAY TO LONG for this to happen…and that shouldn't have happened....but now I am just glad the girls finally have a very nice softball field on campus.

Plus I get to show it off! :)

LHS-Field-Progression_zpshtofrphf.gif
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
A HS in suburban Chicago spent $400,000 on the boys baseball fields, and $27,000 on the softball fields.

Naperville, Illinois, Softball Fields

Here are a couple of thoughts and I see both sides of the issue because there are times when the whole story isn't told accurately. When I was the baseball coach, we opened a new school. Both the softball and baseball fields were bare bones and embarrassing for a new school. At one point, and I know you might think I am exaggerating, I risked my life trying to fix the problems created on the baseball field. I literally had to dig a hole and climb in under the pitching mound to remove "stuff" put there that made the mound react to someone throwing off of it like a bowl of jelly. Kids really did pull me out of the hole using a rope and then grabbing my feet. I had to take mound clay and then push in down in there. I used my fist to pack that mound clay in. Well, long story short, we now had a bill for all of that mound clay. The fence was put up wrong and so, the fence company had to come back. While they had to fix their mistake, the warning track was not put in and so, that had to be done and we got a bill. Then, after my baseball dads found out all that I was doing on that field and than me and my daughter were out there every night working on it, they showed up one day early in the morning to surprise me. They brought in volunteers and build our restrooms, pavilion for concessions, storage areas for four other sports and a huge storage area/office for baseball. While the labor was volunteered, the materials had to be paid for. Although those other sports gained storage areas and a concession stand area, baseball got the bill. I am sure you can see where this is going. I raised as much money as I could but the school's athletic department had to shell out money. Parents then complained that baseball was getting all of the money. The truth was different if you knew the above.

I read the newspaper article and there were some troubling things. Softball does not have cages. That is an easy remedy. Pitching areas are an easy remedy. I built them for both baseball and softball. This school district is in some serious trouble in my opinion since the difference is so great. It simply isn't right if this story is accurate and there are no other circumstances we don't know about.
 
Last edited:
May 23, 2015
999
63
Why don't the parents just chip in and work? It doesn't take tens of thousands to rehab a field and build cages. I've never felt that complaining or whining was the answer. I'm fine with rolling up my sleeves and rallying the troops
 

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