Glendora recreation staff and league leaders report growth, grant wins and field concerns

Glendora recreation staff and community sports leaders on Monday reported a year of growing youth participation, new projects funded through federal grants and local partners, and rising concern about field capacity as a stormwater project redraws the timeline for field availability.

Interim Recreation and Human Services Director Annie Warder said the skate park reopened Feb. 2 after improvements, previewed spring and summer programming (dirt camp March 30–April 3; Easter egg hunts April 4), and listed infrastructure projects in planning or construction. She told the commission the department "did receive a $1,200,000 grant fund from Congressman Cisneros' office for Sandburg Track in partnership with Glendale Unified School District," and that staff submitted additional applications through other congressional offices for Big Dalton Canyon restrooms and Gladstone Park pickleball courts.

Warder gave timelines for multiple projects: the South Hills Bike Park construction-ready plans are being finalized with an expected completion in September 2027 (earliest ground-breaking estimated May 2027 with about nine months of construction), and the Springbinder/Finkbeiner Park stormwater drain project has an updated earliest start date of June 2027. Staff said the new schedule preserves the 2026 fall and 2027 spring seasons for local leagues.

Tim Valdez, president of the Glendora Lassie League, reported a spring roster of about 471 players across 40 teams and repeated concerns about loss of fields if Finkbeiner is taken offline: "Losing Finkbeiner is essentially four fields for us," he said, adding that losing those fields and lights would likely force the league to rent space and lights elsewhere and could reduce participation. Valdez outlined league finances: resident registration fees are $275, nonresident $300; approximate snack-bar revenue is $20,000; key expenditures include umpires (~$22,000), jerseys (~$25,000), awards (~$5,000), and lights (~$15,000).

Commissioners discussed options if Finkbeiner is unavailable, including reaching out to neighboring cities for temporary field use and doing a cost analysis to determine whether the league can absorb rental and lighting expenses. Staff agreed to explore intercity partnerships and noted that the field-work schedule delay is positive for the next two seasons but reiterated that long-term field availability will require coordination and budgeting.

The meeting also included updates from the Glendora Pony organization (59 registered players, 52 Glendora residents; spring games begin March 21 and championships on June 6) and a request to the commission to continue supporting youth-sports partnerships and volunteer recruitment.

The commission approved consent items, accepted nominations for three volunteer awards, and moved on to other agenda items.

What’s next: staff will continue to work with league leaders to model field needs and potential off-site rental costs, pursue grant applications for park amenities, and keep the commission updated on project timelines that affect sports-field availability.