Whats up with tourney/park rules this year!!

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That's why the TD are saying " Cooler for players water allowed"

A good lawyer would have a jury crying their eyes out about a case of heat stroke some poor grandmother had. Or DD's little sister or brother. Some fees are ridiculous like last year at Godbey field in Parkersburg where they charged $5 a head a day to get in. Grandma, Grandpa and two little siblings of DD have to pay $20 bucks to get in?? BS, I said when taking money at the gate and let them in for $10. Still felt guilty. Looking at the characters taking the money from me I visualised some of that cash going to the girls at the gentlemans clubs over at Mineral Wells.

 

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Wilmington fields are completely free...lights and all. They just ask that you pick up or help pick up the trash come Monday morning ( as they have mens leagues on Sunday night and they trash the place).

Wilmington does that so business comes to the community. Then again, it was the owner of Wendy's and Generation Pizza ( directly across from the park) that complained when we went after donations from the businesses to make the fields better and help the drainage problems with more dirt for a crown.

Tell me where that made sense on his part. Motels - restaurants all were chipping in until the guy yelled at the spineless mayor.. and the mayor ordered all donations to be given back to the business and spent NO money on the fields for the past two years.

Go figure.

Actually, they put some new dirt on the fields last year (maybe that was donated, don't know). Drainage is still the number one issue with those fields, but many parks are in that same boat. I know that's what you were working on. But have to say those fields are by far in better shape today than they were when I was a kid in the early 80's. If they would put some drainage in they'd have one of the best parks in SWO to run a tournament. Doesn't get much better from the number of fields, shade, free admission and coolers welcome. Even with all the fast food within walking distance the concessions still seem to be doing a brisk business.

 

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I have passed up all the tourneys that don't allow coolers, some looked pretty good too. I would hate to have to go the attorney route, but it does get hot out there!!

 

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I'm pretty well versed in the groundskeeping costs and one of the cities that charges the most per day charges $100 per day per field and will put up and take down 200' fences for that price and groom twice.

I don't know what city you are from, but around here you can't even get just the fields, no maintenance included, for that price.

Remember a 4 gg is the minumum a team with play and not the maximum.

$ 3555 - Fields
$11060 - Umpires
$ 1560 - Union Field crew (required)
$ 1600 - Balls
$ 2000 - PAID Eastern Nationals Bid to winners ($400 x 5)
$ 1000 - T-Shirts to winners and runner-up ($8 ea x 10 teams x 12 players)
$ 125 - Insurance
$ 1200 - estimated expenses for misc. (permits, cleaning supplies, dumpster, trash bags, toilet tissue, security, etc..)
________
$22100 ($340 per team minumum)

 

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I agree TNT. I played softball there as well since 1974 and as a Men's TD for softball since 1984. Nice place to hold an event. Ballfield JUST had drainage put in 2 years before I had to use the helicopter to get the water off the field.

Go figure.

The motels love it.. the restaurants loved it...the teams loved it...heck.. Damon's owner bought me dinner one Saturday night when he found out I was the TD that brought him twice and three fold the business that he normally gets.

It's a shame for my hometown... one idiot business owner complaining because we asked for donations. Donations mind you. Tax write-offs for them.

The dirt they put on the fields last year was from me begging them at the city council the previous winter to put some money into the fields. And then only less than 1/2 went to the dirt for the fields.

They needed to get the contractor back to FIX his poor workmanship. Did they do that ? Noooooo !!

The park board has a long time friend on it. He said he could probally smooth it all over with the mayor.. if I'd apolgize to the Mayor ( a fellow Quaker) to be able to use the fields again .

I told him not to hold his breath for that. He's a spinless piece of elephant dung.

I don't have DRAINAGE problems in Goshen. None.

 

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A good lawyer would have a jury crying their eyes out about a case of heat stroke some poor grandmother had. Or DD's little sister or brother. Some fees are ridiculous like last year at Godbey field in Parkersburg where they charged $5 a head a day to get in. Grandma, Grandpa and two little siblings of DD have to pay $20 bucks to get in?? BS, I said when taking money at the gate and let them in for $10. Still felt guilty. Looking at the characters taking the money from me I visualised some of that cash going to the girls at the gentlemans clubs over at Mineral Wells.

Don would be rolling over in his grave! I grew up on those fields (when they were on the other side of the 5th St. bridge in the 60's). Also played MANY gigs at the Tradewinds club at the foot of the hill... is it still there? And there's a gentleman's club at Mineral Wells???

Don Godbey was the cornerstone of the whole youth baseball program back then. According to my late dad (who coached a Mountain State Bank team with Don), it was all community volunteers that made it all happen - at least when the fields weren't flooded from the Little Kanawha backwater! The thing is, all the expenses are all relative. Except for the ridiculously expensive bats, it was just as much of a financial burden back then as it is today. What made the difference was the spirit of volunteering, which is just not as prevalent today.

 

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Adults get paid to play and we pay to go see them play.
Kids we have to pay for them to play and then we pay to go see them play.
Funny how that works

 

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I don't know what city you are from, but around here you can't even get just the fields, no maintenance included, for that price.

Sorry not in Ohio, just in the metro area in MN. Eagan has 16 fields (8 lighted) $50 per day. Bloomington has 8, 6 lighted $25 per day. Prior Lake has 8, 6 lighted (free to local orgs, but that may be changing). Countless 4 plexes in the twin cities area that hold small tourneys at $225-$275 a crack and make money on concessions, don't spend much for fields at all.

We held tourney in Prior Lake every year, up to 50+ teams now, break even on registrations and make 3-6K in concession/tshirts depending on the weather. With all the volunteer time (raking, concessions, etc..) probably about $1 per hour , but the real savings is that for the 10-12 teams from Prior Lake it's one more tourney where mom and dad don't have to stay in a hotel for the weekend. When you save teams families $200 in hotel fees, that's worth donating some time chalking a field, or selling hot dogs.

 

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I understand you have to cover costs but I mean take for instance in my hometown there is a tourney and there will be a $5 fee to park in a public.....park? I know this is not from the TD its from the city. The kicker for me in this instance is that they take $ out of my check every week for city taxes the way I see it I have more than paid my dues so I will have someone drop us off. All that and the supposid "stimulus" money that DOES include public parks! Fastpitch has been an uphill "Hamburger Hill" in Middletown. My hats off to Lenos and the Hawks I know the city is a bear to deal with first hand. What you guys are doing at Smith park IS commendable keep it up!

 

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I tried to get fields for 3DM and originally got a nice low cost for the fields, then the city realized that an agreement with the Service Dept. required their employees maintain the fields. "Volunteers" are not allowed to work on the fields which drives the cost way up. You get overpayed 20 year old college students that get summer jobs with the Service Dept. that couldn't chalk a field if their life depended on it. Then the Rec, Dept. asks why no one is willing to "step up" and organize a tourney.
$occer gets carte blanche and the entire city benefits from it. The Service Dept. is hands off.;&