- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 476,047
- Reaction score
- 45
You must be registered for see images attach
Lakeland staff have warned commissioners for years that there's not enough fields to support the city's youth sports teams, and the issue has hit a a boiling point.
Roughly a dozen youth sports directors and involved parents addressed Lakeland commissioners at City Hall on Monday morning about the availability of field space for the city's youth sports programs.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden said at Friday's agenda study that the city has received a sudden influx of emails and phone calls from Lakeland Tropics soccer club parents asking the city to provide additional time and space.
"Our biggest goal is to develop the program and have more fields," restaurateur Marcos Fernandez, who sits on the Florida Tropics board of directors, said Monday. "In order for the Tropics to grow, we need more fields."
The Tropics have reportedly turned away about 300 kids looking to participate in program this year.
The Florida Tropics Academy rents time on two of the six multipurpose fields at John McGee Park on Edgewood Drive South. They rotate time on these fields with the Lakeland Gators youth football league and No Limits, which offers flag football and soccer leagues.
The Florida Tropics Academy has offered to pay the city $600,000 over a 10-year period to install lighting on two of the unlit multipurpose fields, helping extend the hours they can be utilized by youth programs. In exchange, the Tropics asked for exclusive use of the parks' fields to serve as the Tropics' home location.
"It's a great place for the Tropics to call home and grow a big recreational program," Fernandez said. "We're ready to move forward and give the city $6,000."
You must be registered for see images attach
Bob Donahay, the city's director of parks, recreation and cultural arts, said it's not possible given the current split-use of the fields.
"I can't move the Gators," he said Friday. "If I say, 'I'm sorry you don't have a home,' you will be flooded by Gator people.'"
The city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Department considers several factors when deciding which youth sports programs get access to city-owned fields, Donahay said. Those factors include:
- The number of years a program has been operating, with five years denoting league status.
- How many players a program has enrolled.
- Whether they pay user fees on time.
- And the purpose for which a park was created.
"We get put in the unfortunate circumstances of trying to make it fair and equitable," Donahay said. "I would love to give everyone everything they wanted."
Lakeland currently has 16 multipurpose fields, which support soccer, lacrosse and football, across its park system. The city will be celebrating the grand opening of three new fields at Lake Crago park shortly, Donahay said, bringing the total to 19 fields.
Donahay and Pam Page, the deputy director of parks, recreation and cultural arts, warned the city of the coming shortage in 2023 and last May.
"Programs are prospering, more people are moving to Lakeland. They want services, and we need more athletic fields to run these services," he said. "The problem is inventory."
There are six fields at John McGee Park, with use split between the Florida Tropics Academy, the Lakeland Gators and No Limits. Swan City Soccer Club uses fields Lake Parker Park and Tigertown's front lot and will utilize new ones at Lake Crago.
"I've heard it's an inventory problem. I respectfully disagree," Jared Slater with the Tropics said. ""My heart goes out to the Gators, No Limits. We've been asked to share one location, when there's a monopoly on all the other fields."
You must be registered for see images attach
Swan City Soccer Club President Alicia James said her youth soccer league faces the same problem as others: a shortage of available field space.
"There's only two lighted fields at Lake Parker. We use every bit of that space."
James said the soccer club has more than 1,400 participants between its recreational program and youth travel leagues. Yet it had to turn away hundreds of potential players this season.
"We don't have enough field space. Obviously, everyone is struggling with the same thing," James said.
Several groups have called for the city to re-evaluate its system for allocating fields, believing the system that is currently in use shows favoritism and isn't providing a fair split.
"The old system isn't working. The city has grown exponentially. We need to come together and figure it out," Slater said.
Lucas Teixeira, the Tropics' executive director, said he also thinks the city needs to re-examine its fee schedule. He said the Tropics pay $41 per hour to rent the fields while Swan City Soccer Club pays $10 per player. He said the Tropics wind up paying substantially more to the city annually, while having access to fewer fields for fewer hours.
Other youth leagues playing at McGee Park are fearful of being pushed out of the site, while saying they could also use additional field time to allow more children a chance to play.
"I don't feel we should be pushed out to grow another native soccer program," said Chris Hansen, president of the Lakeland Gators. "There's very little football programs in the City of Lakeland. I don't feel we should have to be moved to North Lakeland, when that's our home. We've been there over a decade."
You must be registered for see images attach
Donahay said the Lakeland Gators have been displaced when the city decided to build Common Ground Playground, and their league had been relocated to Cypress Youth Sports Complex, now named John McGee Park.
"It's not about Swan City, it's about the other programs that have divided one space for three groups. The Tropics cannot grow, the Gators cannot grow, No Limits cannot grow," Teixeira said. "What we are struggling with is we have a huge demand. How can we provide access that is amenable? We have hundreds of players that want to come join us."
Donahay said the city's immediate solution to provide relief is to find a way to raise funds to provide lighting to additional multipurpose fields at its parks, extending the hours they can be used.
The long-term solution is creating more multipurpose fields with future parks expansion, Donahay said, such as the English Creek Park in Southwest Lakeland. There is no immediate funding for that park.
"We do not have enough multi-use fields. If we are going to take that seriously, we are going to have budget time have to step up at that time," Commissioner Mike Musick said.
"We knew we were short. We do not have enough multi-use fields," Commissioner Mike Musick said. "If we are going to take that seriously, then we are going to have to at budget time step up at that time as well and say, ‘Yes, heard it, and yes, I’m willing to put my pen to that.'”
The Lakeland commissioners will have their first workshop on the fiscal year 2026 budget at 1:30 p.m. May 22 at City Hall, 228 S. Massachusetts Ave.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland youth sports programs demand more fields, more lighting
Continue reading...
