PHOENIX — A field of dreams is fading away for a group of Valley children.
The co-founder of a baseball league tells ABC15 that the City of Phoenix is forcing them to not play this season. However, the city says that is not the case.
"I feel really excited and wanting to always try my best to not mess up a lot,” said 9-year-old Angie Leyva.
She is part of the 'Field of Dreams' baseball league in Phoenix. Yvette Aguiniga and her husband founded the league five years ago.
"We wanted to be able to bring something free, available to everybody and anybody,” said Aguiniga.
The league includes some of the Valley's most underserved communities. It started with 12 players and grew last year to more than 300.
'Field of Dreams' is about a week away from starting its next season. Aguiniga feels, at this point, that the children in her league are about to lose even though she's ready to expand the league to other city parks.
"Parks and Recreation is asking us to pay for the lights, fields and insurance,” explained Aguiniga.
She says the city wants to charge her $10,000 for insurance. But, since founding the league, she says the teams have played at Alkire Park, near 15th Avenue and Buckeye Road, for free as part of an informal agreement confirmed by the city.
"And, they are right. There was no writing. It was all (done) with verbal talks between all of us together,” added Aguiniga.
A spokesman for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department tells ABC15 it has reached out to 'Field of Dreams' to work with them, but has not heard back. The spokesman said the city is offering a new grant program that could help cover fees.
The reason for the tears during our interview, Aguiniga says, is not only for what she's going through. But, also because she did a lot of this volunteer work while she was experiencing homelessness in 2021 and 2022.
"I mean, we were sleeping in the car and this was our way out. This is the way out for a lot of the kids in our program,” added Aguiniga.
Angelica Romero's four children have played in the league.
"We are going to keep doing it. We started with 12 like she says and we will continue,” said Romero.
ABC15 asked Romero about her wish for the league.
“For our kids to play, have fun and find friends,” added Romero.
A spokesman for the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department sent the following statement:
The Parks and Recreation Department has always operated in good faith with Field of Dreams who is one of our valued partners. The original, informal agreement with Field of Dreams was for them to utilize Alkire Park to help deter negative activity and promote positive park activation. Typical reservation fees were waived and this will remain in place through December 31, 2023.
The organization has expressed interest in expanding the program into other parks and we are happy to walk them through the reservation process. We are fortunate to work with many organizations who are focused on serving youth in our community. To ensure we are treating all user groups fairly and equitably, we have asked the group to follow our typical field reservation protocols.
We have reached out to the organization many times, letting them know we are happy to assist their program needs, however more recent attempts to communicate have received no response. The department also recently launched a neighborhood grant program to help activate our parks. The organization may qualify to submit for funding to cover field reservation fees.
The department welcomes continued discussions from Field of Dreams about a continued partnership.
Regarding maintenance, Parks and Recreation staff is responsible for maintaining the park, and Field of Dreams has not been asked to provide maintenance, nor has there been an exchange of services.
