Coaches and parents press Cooper City over prolonged baseball-field closures and safety gaps

A longtime coach told the Cooper City Commission that travel teams have been shut out of city baseball fields for months, saying some fields have been closed "for 20 weeks since November" and that ongoing problems with sand, weeds and missing fencing have left teams renting other venues and losing revenue. "For us to be where we're at is really, really disappointing," said Steve Thompson, a 12-year coach who addressed the commission during public input.

City Manager (title) and parks staff said the city is managing a phased, grant‑driven renovation and a new facility‑use agreement with the Optimist Club that has created a transition in how registrations and practice schedules are handled. "For practice purposes, not for game purposes, we could start using the field," the city manager said, explaining the distinction between practice readiness and full game readiness and pointing to an Aug. 23 practice start date in department schedules. Parks staff identified specific repairs still outstanding—backstops, sharp fencing edges and localized drainage issues—and said many items are tied to vendor schedules and a state grant approval window.

Commissioners demanded clearer timelines and stronger vendor accountability. Commissioner (functional_label) argued that taking down old fencing or bleachers without ready replacements is unacceptable for families who come to games. Parks staff said some fields (Billups/Sue Ellen/Bill Lips) show marked improvement from last year, but cautioned that certain fixes require time to let grass reestablish or to wait for materials to arrive. The commission directed staff to finalize a coordinated field calendar with all stakeholders after Labor Day, to provide a status report within two weeks on backstop and fencing completion, and to brief the commission on any remaining grant deadlines that could affect work schedules.