Finding a solution for youth sports

Tentative plans for Sunset Ridge Park have pitted soccer and baseball enthusiasts against each other in a battle for field space in Newport Beach.

Members of the group Soccer Families 4 Newport Fields are “disappointed” with plans to include a baseball diamond in park designs, said Jeff Braun, regional commissioner of AYSO Region 97 and Soccer Families 4 Newport Fields organizer.

The baseball diamond would overlap with two soccer fields planned for the park, keeping soccer teams from getting as much use out of the fields in the spring. The Newport Beach City Council will likely begin discussions to approve park plans next month. The inclusion of a baseball diamond in park plans has prompted the Soccer Families group to send a letter to the council asking plans for the diamond to be reconsidered.

“There doesn’t appear to be a plan to accommodate the growing needs of soccer in Newport Beach,” Braun said. “[Sunset Ridge] is obviously an active park and we’re excited about that, but it doesn’t recognize we still have 800 children to serve in the spring, mostly women who don’t have the default sport of baseball.”

The Newport Harbor Baseball Assn., which serves about 750 players in various age groups, needs the baseball diamond for its many 13- and 14-year-old players, said association President Fred Cornwell. The 17-team division now plays on a field that is too small for its age group at Horace Ensign Intermediate School, he said.

“[Soccer organizers] want year-round soccer,” Cornwell said. “We’ve always respected their season and we wish they would respect our season. Many of our kids play soccer in the off season.”

Soccer Families 4 Newport Fields claims more children in Newport Beach play soccer than all other youth sports combined. The growing popularity means teams need more space for practices and games. Newport Beach has 22 sports fields it allocates by permit to youth and adult sports organizations. Local sports groups also work with Newport-Mesa Unified School District to use school district athletic fields. Soccer teams are often at odds for playing time with softball and baseball, and other sports in the spring. While many boys play baseball in the spring, girls who play soccer year-round are usually affected the most in the spring.

City officials hope Sunset Ridge can be designed to appease both soccer and baseball enthusiasts, as well residents from the Newport Crest neighborhood who have voiced concerns about noise and traffic the park might bring to the area, said Wes Morgan, recreation and senior services director for Newport Beach. Final plans could include a portable fence around the diamond that could be removed so soccer players could still use the space in the spring, Morgan said.

“The needs are many and all of them are genuine,” Morgan said. “We do the best we can to balance them.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.