When the Battle Ground City Council approved a master park plan in August that included drastic changes for Fairgrounds Park, Battle Ground Little League officials were largely supportive of the proposal.
The council approved a master park plan for four city park sites in August, including Fairgrounds Park, which Battle Ground Little League (BGLL) has called home for decades. The master plan for Fairgrounds Park included keeping the skate park and current parking lot but reshaping the north segment of the 8.6-acre property to replace the existing Little League ballfields with a pump track and specialty gardens surrounded by new trails. The development also includes a splash pad and play area for children, picnic areas and sports courts for basketball, tennis and potentially pickleball.
Despite the plan calling for Battle Ground Little League to lose its home, BGLL President Ryan Smith saw the plan as an opportunity for the youth baseball organization to grow. The City Council stipulated that before any of the changes are made to the park, the Little League ballfields must be relocated first, which means the organization will not have to move anytime soon.
Smith said the decision and future move is a good thing.
“It’s an awesome location, but as a Little League we’ve grown so much,” Smith said. “I mean by Little League, it’s not the small, little league that it used to be. Last year, we had just about 300 families. It’s two years in a row with 300 families and with all the new developments and housing going in, we’re expecting probably 350 this year, if not more.”
At the same time, the current space Little League calls home cannot grow. Parking is limited, and the league has only five fields on which to play, including one dedicated just to softball. As well, Smith said the all-natural fields cause many cancellations throughout the season.
“I think the stance of the city and us is we just want somewhere for the kids to be able to play, and so if it’s not here, it’ll be somewhere else and it will be more of what the league needs,” Smith said.
Smith hasn’t identified the ideal site for a new Little League home, but he knows what it needs. He said he would like to see larger baseball fields built to accommodate the junior’s division, which currently plays “home” games at other league’s facilities.
Last year, the BGLL rented the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex for the junior division, which meant, after school, families had to drive players from Battle Ground to the neighboring community, roughly 20 minutes away. While Smith can’t fault RORC, he said he would love to see that style of facility available at home.
“If we could provide that for the families and for the players, it just builds more camaraderie,” Smith said. “The boys, I feel bad for them. Those junior boys, they never have a home game. I mean, they might be labeled as the home team on the score sheet, but they’re never home. They’re never playing in Battle Ground.”
Along with larger baseball fields, Smith would enjoy providing softball with more opportunities. Currently, the BGLL only has one softball field.
“Our softball program, you know, most years outshines the baseball program, and they have one field,” he said. “That’s one size, and then you have to have two pitchers plates so that both levels can pitch. They deserve better. They deserve a peewee field, a minor’s field and a junior’s field.”
Smith said a bigger complex located further away from nearby residences would be ideal because, currently, home run balls frequently land on the roofs of neighbors at Whispering Poplars Mobile Home Park.
