Spending on baseball and softball fields smells like the Park City School Board

The Park City School Board had a look back at the baseball program’s field of dreams on Tuesday.

Board Chairman Andrew Caplan questioned the spending of $7 million on baseball and softball fields after a presentation by Scott Later, a project manager with MHTN Architects, who has studied possible improvements to Park City High School’s athletic facilities.

“My first question is why would phase one be softball and baseball fields and not rectangular sports fields?” Caplan asked. Other school board members were also skeptical.

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It was later said that a “hot topic” among the feedback requested was that the district’s baseball and softball teams had little chance to hit their fields last spring as they were covered in snow for much of the season. If the fields were artificial grass, they could have been plowed.

“I’m quite aware that we hear from baseball parents and from baseball coaches on a regular basis,” said board member Nick Hillsaid. “I wonder what we’ve heard from people who are not actively involved in the baseball program.”

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Later, three possible plan concepts were presented to the board, and while each varied in location and layout of facilities, all would increase the number of parking spaces, add more athletic facilities and address concerns. Found later while talking to those who would be affected.

“Baseball and softball are the first phase of that project or work,” Later said. “This is about a $7 million project. We are looking at artificial turf pitches for both areas, a rehabilitation of the surrounding landscape areas, the provision of dugout areas and scoreboards and all the necessary equipment to make these stand alone.”

“Let me rephrase that,” Caplan said. “How many high school students play sports on a rectangular field versus a baseball diamond?”

Park City High School principal Roger Arbabi quickly got a text from a coach saying there were 120 players in baseball and softball.

“I understand the urgency of, ‘Oh, OK, we have some space and we can put in some lawns because we know we need lawns,’” ​​Caplan said. “If I were to look at this through the lens of how many students these dollars are impacting, we can’t possibly say that as many students are playing varsity, JV softball and baseball as the amount of demand we have for football, lacrosse, hockey, any other sport .”

He said that children now do not participate in sports because the district does not have the necessary exercise space.

“I completely agree that we need baseball facilities,” Caplan said. “But for $7 million as phase one, I just don’t understand why we’re prioritizing two sports that are very, very low in terms of relative participation.”

He later said much of the feedback he received came from Jamie Sheetz, the high school’s athletics and activities director, and from responses to surveys that went out to all the coaches.

“I would like to see the actual participation figures. I don’t really want to see the anecdotal numbers,” Caplan said. “I am not in favor of continuing with this until we have concrete figures. … No offense to Jamie, but I don’t think the prioritization of which fields should come solely from the athletic department.

Other board members expressed similar concerns about spending $7 million on facilities for 120 high school students.

They agreed to wait to vote until they can hold a work session on August 20 at 3 p.m.

District Chief Operations Officer Mike Tanner said a decision would likely have to be made Tuesday evening if the lawns are to be installed in time for the next spring season.

“It sucks, but we’re just not going to be able to do that,” Caplan said.

Park City High School baseball coach David Feasler said he wasn’t surprised. He has heard similar board discussions over the past eight years. Still, he was disappointed.

“Since I have been here, none of the challenges facing baseball and softball have been addressed by the school board,” Feasler said. “It is a dire lack of care and support.”

He hoped Tuesday night’s discussion would be different as the board was willing to spend money on an athletic master plan.

“This is probably the third semi-serious time they’ve been in an athletic upgrade conversation, so I can’t say I’m surprised,” he said.

He said the lack of a usable facility for much of last baseball season left the Park City team with just six home games. They traveled for 25 games, which meant he and his students missed several class periods. Before one of their games toward the end of the season, he said a coach shoveled snow for five hours with a shovel and a hand plow.

Despite the challenges the program presents, he says softball and baseball athletes continue to “crush it.” The baseball team came within three wins of a state championship.

“We have a lot of conversations every year like, ‘Hey, let’s make the most of what we have,’ and they’re really good at practicing from within,” he said. “I think everyone looks at it and thinks, man, it can be even better.”