Victory park improvements

[default]

As promised i have started a post regarding victory park. Please feel free to post about tournaments, staff, field maintenance(groundscrew) and other improvements and suggestions you may have.

 

[wow]

There is so much already out there. Do a quick search and you will get more than you could ever need..

 

[weekendsoftball]

I love the stage and attraction idea near the front entrance. I think they (as well as all vendors) need to all be in the same localized area. My suggestion would be to put everyone near the main building in the place of the Volleyball courts. I have been there 3 times and have never seen anyone play volleyball. Everything would then be pretty much in the center or really close to all the fields used for fastpitch. The golf cart shuttle is a very nice service. In our host Thunder Elite tournaments, we make sure we have a field crew ready to reline and rake after every game. In the very least, relining the fields would be a bonus. Overall we had a very good experience at the 'Twas the Night Before Xmas tournament last weekend.

 

[WWolff]

I have heard a lot of good from people that have played here this year going to take a drive out to look around

 

[coachtomv]

We played there several times this year, including 2 for the Wounded Warriors. We thought they did a great job and its close to food, lodging, and the Ohio turnpike. Plenty of parking, warmup areas for teams, etc.

 

[neofreezefastpitch]

Went out for the first night of the Pumpkin Smash last night. Did not play any tournaments here last year.

I have to say was very impressed with the overall improvements with the facility. The Pumpkin Smash appeared to be running very smoothly. Great playing facility.

This will be one of the premier facilities when they finish the permanent restrooms and concessions, although the trailer they bring in for the restrooms is more than acceptable in the mean time.

Hats off to Tony and all of his team. Great job!!!! Keep it moving forward. We look playing several tournaments there this year.

 

[FastBat]

I have always loved that place. All-in-all I think in the past it has been very nice!

 

[snoman76]

My first time at VSP was 3 years ago and I was really impressed and seen what they were trying to do with the place and thought that its gonna be a great complex once it's finished..... The problem is that it looks exactly the same as it did 3 years ago and from what I've heard from others it looked the same 6 years ago. Finishing the bathrooms would be a major plus. I think that is probably the main complaint from everyone. I would like to see some better temporary fences. The ones there do not hold up and by the end of the day there are parts that the top and bottom have accordioned together and 90% of the balls that were hit into the outfield went under for a ground rule double. Gate..... I have no issue with the gate fee but when you're charging at 6:00pm on Sunday with 2 rounds of games left is a little overboard.

Over all it is a very nice complex and is perfectly placed. Carmen and all the VSP crew are very friendly and the golf cart shuttles are nice touch. Plenty of parking and campers are allowed.

 

[The Dude]

We had fun up there this past weekend. Nice park. Want to ditto what was said about the restrooms needing to be finished. The one huge issue that we had with this past weekend came on Sunday. Very windy day. Everyone that was at the park that day left completely coated in dirt. Had the fields been hosed down just a little, from time to time, it would have made for a much better day for everyone there, players and families.

 

[Fastball19]

$5 per person for 1 friday night time limited game is not acceptable period. It costs us 20 bux to go watch a single game. Maybe there is some collusion going on here with TDs and Victory park to try and fit as many single games in as possible on Friday to pull the most money possible from the parents. Teams that are given a single game should be given some sort of discount coupon for the parents to enter at say 1/2 the gate fee.

 

[Shane]

My family and I made our first visit to the Victory Park complex this past weekend during the pumpkin smash tournament as our DD's team, the 10U Wizard Young Guns, participated. For the most part no complaints. Glad to see 2 umpires assigned for the 10U contests. The dust was bothersome and a little water on the diamonds would have helped. I would much rather be covered in dust than cold and wet, thank you mother nature! I would echo the same comment about moving the vendors to a centralized location near the expansive concession stand. The temporary fences were rough in appearance and did allow for balls to roll underneath but I am glad there were at least fences there. All in all, I would not hesitate in visiting Victory Park again in the future. Keep investing in the infrastructure, get some restrooms, and then take care all of the cosmetic stuff!!

 

[Pitch Perfect]

The gate fees are a killer. Perhaps offer a weekend pass for families that will be coming all weekend. Indoor bathrooms and permanent concessions would be appreciated too! One thing I didn't understand in years past was serving beer at a youth event. Some parents are bad enough without adding alcohol!!

 

[JOEBOO3432]

Snoman- thanks for coming and glad yiu enjoyed. We took over close to 5 years ago. The park has changed every year as investments into infrastructure improvements are constant.
Some highlights- the building didnt have a roof on it let alone cement ground in main atea, landscaping, permanent electrical and water utilities, throughout the park, paved main aisle from new ticket booth, updated fencing in many areas, the plaza area with tents, stage abd VIP DECK, new infields, introduction of the transportation carts, the grey restroom facility, office trailer, etc.
we will evaluate the temporary fencing at the end of this year, that also did not exist here 5 years ago.
Speaking of the grey restroom trailer behind the building, it has heat and ac, running city water and sewer to support the 10 stalls, sinks, mirrors, handsoap, papertowels. Other than the fact it has wheels so we can move it later, not sure what else a bathroom needs? Nevertheless the building restrooms will be done once were able to close in the building and run the gasline to it. Otherwise it will explode in the Winter.
As for gate fees, it was a 66 team tourney and a lot of teams with special requests so that taints the integrity of the schedule and causes the one game friday anomoles for some teams.
Thanks for your comments!

 

[JOEBOO3432]

Hi Shane- thanks for the input. The biggest challenge with doing water sunday was the backups on the fields due to pumpkin smashing. It takes 10-15 min to properly water the i fields. With games behind up to an hour and a half on some fields and such a large field of teams, it made it almost impossible. Some championships finished as late as 11pm sunday nite.
The vendors are at the front gate mostly because they wont get hit by foulballs and everyone has to pass them coming in and going out. When they are on the back pad many people from the front 4 fields dont go back there (which is why they dont know about the grey restrooms as well lol)

 

[JOEBOO3432]

Pitch Perfect- in many cases we do offer weekend passes. Contact your TD before an event if interested. Thanks.

 

[JOEBOO3432]

Fastball- please see my comments to Snoman. Predominately this is caused by size of tournament and the amount of special time requests by various teams. No collusion.

 

[initfor51]

5.00 dollars for an 80 minute game is a joke. If all the teams don't have to play all three days because they asked for special treatment, then why are you punishing us coaches that see the dates which are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and commit our team to those dates. I guess it pays (literally) to not follow the posted tournament guidelines. Just sad. Other than the Friday rip off, I love going to this park-but from now on will make a "special request" to not play on Friday to protect my parents and their wallets.

 

[JOEBOO3432]

First off just to be clear, this is not a Victory Park Tournament. Its only played here. Secondly, there were 66 teams playing on 7 fields. Based on the game guarantee every slot of every field of each day is filled with no room for error. It cannot be completed in 2 days so most teams have to play friday as well.
The "special treatment" is usually predicated on a teams ability to play given their circumstance. You sound like a good caring coach and Im sure your team appreciates it! Thanks for the input..

 

[KillingMeSmalls]

I'm surprised the gate fees still generate this much attention. I would assume all the Coaches would advise their parents of the situation prior to their arrival. If not, that's on the Coach. I get it, we all hate fees, but we all should know they exist at some parks. I do think that Friday nights should be free given the limited schedule; however I doubt that happens.

 

[poden-smoden]

This gate fee seems to really get to people so I guess I will be the first to say that I would relish the opportunity to play here and pay the gate fee. Unfortunately I can not due to this park generally having lower level tournaments with lower level teams. Not always the case but for the most part. If I were to frequent Victory park then that would mean that I would not be in Tennessee, Chicago, Jersey, Colorado, Philly, St Louis, California, Indiana, or Kentucky and spending the 5 to 10k in a calendar year for ball. What I am saying is that I would LOVE to only pay 5 bucks to go somewhere.....there I said it!!!