Representatives from the Sunshine Coast Fastball Association will be making a pitch to play at Hackett Park at the July 4 Sechelt council meeting.
The group’s delegation follows the decision by two of the association’s teams to play at Hackett despite the fact the district turned down an application to hold games there this season, suggesting the team use Kinnikinnick Park.
The district said fastball games lead to a lot of foul balls and long hits that could be dangerous to passersby on the street, or cause property damage. It also said there had been complaints over the years about player behaviour.
The June 21 game between the Kurty D’s and the Cutthroats was originally scheduled for Kinnikinnick, but the teams decided to move it to Hackett Park.
Association representative Mike Fawcus told Coast Reporter that the league took the position of “neither condoning, nor condemning the move, as it recognized that this was simply a case of two teams independently responding to what appears to be the desires of the community at large.”
Fawcus said the association set up the July 4 delegation to council “in the hopes of gaining a more collaborative discussion surrounding the issue.”
More than 75 spectators turned up for last Thursday’s game, and several commented they were glad to see the games back at Hackett, “where they belong,” and joked about forgetting their protest signs and what they should do if police got called in to shut down the game.
Neither RCMP nor Sechelt officials intervened and the game went on without interference, although a few foul balls did leave the park, and a couple bounced harmlessly off vehicles owned by members of the opposing teams that were parked close to the dugouts.
District of Sechelt communications manager Julie Rogers said there was one complaint and staff are “reviewing options in response.”
