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Sudley Park slated for fall opening
Parents waiting for the day when then their Little League ball players can play under the lights at Sudley Park in Catharpin will have to muster out just one more season before their kids can fully enjoy their own field of dreams.
The outfield grass on the five baseball and softball fields is new and still developing firm roots in the dirt, causing maintenance crews to advise the Prince William County Park Authority and subsequently those who would use the fields that they will have to wait until at least summer before playing ball on the diamonds.
Also, it will be at least that long until lights are constructed so games can be played into the evening, which is the whole points of having that particular park anyway, according to various Gainesville District Little League board members.
"I hope that (the lights) would be (there) because the problem with the fall is if you don’t have lights, you can’t play baseball or softball games during the week," said field director John Craig Tuesday morning as he stood at the rocky entrance road leading to Phase 1 of Sudley Park. "If we have lights, we could be playing games until 7:30 at night."
Last spring, the GDLL had to turn away kids and put some on waiting lists once the league reached its 1,000-person capacity for youth baseball and softball. There will be at least 84 teams comprising the league during the spring season, just like last year, said Craig. Capacity issues will not be resolved until after the season.
The number of players signed up for this spring season has yet to be determined as the league accepts registrations until Jan. 31. Tryouts are held in February and games, which will be played at Long Park and four western Prince William County schools, begin in April.
"As in past years, the challenge is trying to divvy-up the game time and practice time amongst the 80 teams we have for the spring season," said GDLL president Charles Husser, later adding, "There just isn’t any time to add any additional games or practices, what have you. That’s the clue to the whole puzzle."
Husser said the league will try to schedule only practices for Sundays instead of games this year as he added that it was tough on parents and kids alike last year.
Sudley Park has fences already built for all five ball fields and foul poles put in place too. An irrigation system is being developed for the outfields and sod has already been placed inside the softball diamonds.
The GDLL is still waiting on the lights to be built, VDOT to construct turning lanes into Sudley Park and for Verizon and NOVEC to relocate utility lines.
About 600 to 700 kids are expected to be signed up for the following fall season, according to Husser, when his league’s teams can finally compete at Sudley Park.
Just being able to use the fields comes after a long battle fought by Husser and former GDLL president Nick Agnos with the county’s Adult Softball League.
Almost since the decade started, complications arose from how Sudley Park should be configured after the residential development company Toll Brothers proffered $2.3 million to the county as part of a deal for the developers to build Dominion Valley.
Both sides staked claim to the fields at various points and construction on the fields was delayed until grading finally resumed last year in the midst of hearing in front of the Prince William Park Authority.
After heavy prodding from the Board of County Supervisors, the Park Authority finally voted on a configuration for the fields and decided on one with three baseball fields that could be used by Little Leaguers and two multipurpose softball fields that will have removable fences depending on whether adults or girls are using them. Little Leaguers have priority use of the fields.
Phase 2 of Sudley Park to the north has yet to be built out. It is slated to have four soccer rectangles and two football fields.
"If we continue to grow, even with that park, it’s basically going to set us back to where we were," said Husser, comparing the league’s capacity problems with that of area schools.
"It’s basically just going to put us where we should have been."
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