Some San Carlos residents are at odds with the local little league tonight.
The league is growing fast, and now games and practices may need to be held at night. There's a proposal to add stadium lights, but that's getting pushback from some of the neighbors.
“There is tons of friends and it’s fun," player Cash Hazlewood said explaining his love for baseball.
The San Carlos Little League has 17 lower-division teams sharing two fields and 19 upper-division teams sharing two fields. The participation level has nearly doubled in eight years.
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"We’re at the point we are bursting at the seams," SCLL board member Kristin Ludwick said. "We just simply do not have enough field space for our kids to play."
Instead of building more fields, Ludwick and the SCLL board are proposing new stadium lights.
"They are Little League International-approved lights that have zero spill and we can control how far the light actually would project," Ludwick said.
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Ludwick says playing under the lights would increase the number of hours kids could practice and play.
"We’re going to see the ball better cause when it gets dark you can’t really see the ball," Ludwick's son Luke said.
"We can’t see and we have a short time playing. Kids just want to play ball," player Davin Lafiance added.
SCLL board members, parents and players packed the local recreation center to present their plan to the Community Recreation Board.
Like the sign at the fields says, the gates to the ball fields close at 5:30 p.m. With lights on the field, though, the park would stay open until 9 p.m. And even though supporters, by most accounts, explained that these new modern directional lights would illuminate just the park, it seems the noise is what neighbors are concerned about.
"I’ve got six kids at home from age 2 to 12 and noise after hours is going to be a big deal for my family," one resident opposed to the lights said.
"I can assure you we need to respect the rights of parents who want their kids doing homework and having a tranquil evening," another parent said.
Neighbors say the noise, parking, and mischievous teens make for a long season.
Ludwick says stadium lights have been a discussion in San Carlos for 10 years. This is the first proposal though, before the Community Recreation Board. There are studies, fundraising and a number of approvals to go.
It appears that baseball under the lights may prove to be a game of patience.
The Community Recreation Board will meet again in January to discuss the field lights proposal.
