An effort is underway to bring more lighted playing fields to Blacksburg. A petition drive is pushing the lighting of the baseball and softball fields between Kipps Elementary and Blacksburg Middle School on Prices Fork Road with hopes of other ones receiving the upgrade in the near future.
Approximately 305 people have signed an online petition that was started by the Blacksburg youth softball and baseball associations.
Robb Mann is with the local softball association and said the youth of Blacksburg are often constrained by a lack of fields for their athletics, not just for baseball and softball but also soccer, football and lacrosse.
“The local youth athletic programs currently make the most of what is available, but due to supply and demand, more fields are needed. If more fields are not feasible at the present time; then the current fields need to be lighted in order to allow for multiple practice times and game time slots. The ability to play games and/or practice after dark would do a lot to help mediate the problem,” he said.
The current youth fields are primarily located at the Kipps Elementary School/Blacksburg Middle School Complex, Prices Fork Elementary School, Blacksburg High School and the old Blacksburg High School across from the Blacksburg Recreation Center, where the Jaycee Field is lit for adult softball leagues Monday through Fridays during the spring, summer and fall seasons.
Dean Crane is the director of the Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department and said at this time, they do not have any plans on lighting any additional fields.
“The only conversation that I am aware of about lights was when the high school football field was being discussed. [The parks and rec dept.] has had no formal conversations. We have additional field space (that is not ready for play yet) at the park at South Point, but no lights are planned there either. For youth sports, the children practice and play during the time after school until dark and on the weekends,” he said on Monday.
The town’s recent master plan calls for the use of multipurpose athletic fields to allow for the testing of new sports to the array of athletic programs offered such as field hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, etc., as well as existing sports organizations such as the Blacksburg Rugby Team.
It also calls for increase the number of athletic playing fields to support the demand of both the town and private association organized leagues.
According to Mann, Blacksburg is the only community within the New River Valley (including Christiansburg, Radford, Pulaski, and Giles) that does not have any lighted youth athletic fields.
Right now, the only lighted field in Blacksburg is the High School Football Stadium; which is directly beside the Kipps/Blacksburg Middle School athletics complex.
Town council voted 4-3 in 2006 in favor for these lights at the BHS Football Stadium, but it too did not come without concern from the adjacent neighborhood.
Youth teams have also been able to use the fields located at the old Blacksburg High School, but with the recent sale of that property to a private developer, Mann said, the future of those three fields (baseball, softball, and the track/football/soccer/lacrosse field) is now in question.
With no lights, field time has been extremely constrained, especially in the early spring and fall seasons when it gets dark sooner.
“This causes the Blacksburg teams to have less time available for both games and practices. Normally, when the season starts and games are scheduled; most teams have to struggle to squeeze in one additional practice each week,” Man said.
“With additional fields and/or lights, the teams will be able to consistently plan and use the fields from 5-8:30 p.m. during the weeknights. Right now, only one game and/or practice can be scheduled per field in the evenings between 5-7pm. Lights would allow for an additional game or practice to be had each weeknight, which ultimately benefits the young athletes.”
Both Mann’s softball and the baseball association have seen continued growth over the past several years.
Blacksburg softball alone has seen a tremendous amount of growth since 2010. Blacksburg used to field two or three teams (30 players) a season from 2010-2012 and has grown to fielding four teams (50 players) from 2013-15 to six teams the past two Spring seasons 2016-17 (70+ players), making the Blacksburg Softball franchise now the largest in the NRV. But the success of the franchise has not come without many new challenges.
“Specifically, since there is only one field dedicated at Kipps for girls’ softball; we are now struggling to find the field space needed for both practices and games. Early spring and fall seasons are problematic for two games/events to be held the same evening. This does not even account for youth football, soccer, and lacrosse programs and their growth within the local Blacksburg community,” Mann said.
Lacrosse for both boys and girls has been added in Spring 2018 as the newest varsity sports at Blacksburg High School, thus creating even more of a demand. The New River Valley Lacrosse Club is also causing a new demand on multi-purpose fields in and around the community.
Mann said all of the feedback that they have received through the petition drive has been positive.
“The parents of this community are just like everyone else in that they desire for their children to have the same opportunities as the neighboring communities in the NRV (Christiansburg, Radford, Giles, Auburn, and Pulaski). We are simply working towards first pointing out and then addressing the issue with the town leaders as well as the broader community,” he said.
The next step, according to Mann, is to continue to educate the Blacksburg Community about the issue, obtain more local support and buy-in for the issue and the youth athletic programs, and then to present the issue at an upcoming Blacksburg Town Council meeting.
For more information on the issue or to sign the petition, contact Blacksburg Softball Association at BlacksburgSoftball@gmail.com.
