“I believe in the church of baseball…” And so begins Annie
Savoy’s spiritual soliloquy in opening *Bull Durham*, one of my two favorite
sports films (Field of Dreams being the other.) Annie’s methods of baseball
appreciation are out of the ordinary, to say the least, but Bull Durham captures
the magic underlying this deceptively un-simple game. “You throw the ball, you
hit the ball, you catch the ball…”
There is nothing deceptive, however, about the un-simplicty of finding a good place to play baseball in
Petaluma, especially if you are in the Petaluma National Little League.
National got their start in 1957 at McNear Park, soon
thereafter moving to a more suitable location at the corner of E. Washington
and Payran. When the new library moved in, they were
moved again, to vacant School District land southeast of Kenilworth Junior
High. With their home secured, the parent-volunteers created a first rate
baseball complex.
But permanence at Kenilworth was not to be. Population
growth east of the freeway is forcing the School District to relocate the
junior high to the east side. To afford this move, the District had to sell the
*entire* Kenilworth site. New owner Regency Centers is planning a large retail
and residential development; they want baseballers gone
by this September.
National Little League asked the City to help find a new and
truly permanent home. But the options are few. Forget the east side; Little
League rules require fields to be within the league’s district boundaries. And
forcing parents’ cars into the Washington corridor is a Bad Idea. How about McNear Peninsula? Fish and Wildlife regulations effectively
mandate a natural park there. The fairgrounds? Not enough room without knocking
down structures; furthermore, it’s under long term lease to the Fair Board, a State
agency. With the clock ticking, City Parks staff narrowed the choices to two
west side locations: Petaluma Junior High, and McNear
Park.
But the Junior High site isn’t owned by the City (remember
Kenilworth?), and it needs considerably more site improvements than the almost
$1 million estimated for McNear. So it seemed
National Little League might return to its original home. And isn’t McNear a “community park”, designated, like Luchessi, to serve more than its immediate neighborhood?
Well, a lot has changed since 1957. Modern community parks have far greater
separation from nearby homes, wider access roads, and more parking. Regulation-sized
major, minor, and mini fields will dominate that part of the park, and the
major field, with its permanent outfield fence, will be off-limits to anyone
but Little Leaguers. McNear Park, as we know it, will
not be the same.
So where does that leave National Little League? I offer
Plan C: Corona Reach, the floodplain land north and south of the outlet mall. It
has benefits that no other site can match. There’s plenty of room, for little
league and adult baseball, and year-round lighted soccer (see pictures at Petaluma-Tomorrow.org/plan-c).
It keeps traffic off the Washington cross town connector, bringing traffic (and
business) to the existing shopping mall. It’s close to the new developments going
into northwest Petaluma. It utilizes flood plain land without significant flood
risks (the fields can be engineered for proper drainage, to allow a long
playing season.) And it leaves McNear Park intact.
Property owner Chelsea has already has expressed their
willingness to sell part of their land. We can afford *all* of it, but it will
require vigorous support from our City Council and our County Supervisor Mike
Kerns. In addition to flood prevention grant money, we can tap the County Open
Space District. Its charter, 1990’s Measure C, specifically mentions preserving
riparian corridors and land along the Petaluma River.
Petaluma continues to grow, as does the popularity of field
sports, including new activities like lacrosse and Frisbee golf. Rather than endure
the loss of the Kenilworth fields by squeezing Little League into an already fully-used
park, Plan C will give us the facilities we deserve. The Council will be
discussing this at their February 28 7PM meeting. Our Council Members and
County Supervisor have the opportunity to hit a home run; but they first need
to step up to the plate. Cheer them on!