Column: UC Development and the Future of Youth Baseball Fields in Albany

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we publish future stories related to the Whole Foods project. Learn about the proposed .

was and played its first game at the University Village fields on May 8, 1957. The league is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 18, and this season ALL fielded 52 teams with almost 700 players. Player registration fees provide the bulk of ALL’s revenue, along with proceeds from our “snack shacks” and sponsorship donations from over 30 local businesses. (Thank you!) Scholarships are available, and no one is ever turned away for inability to pay.

ALL’s boundary encompasses Albany, El Cerrito, Kensington, North Berkeley and parts of Richmond. Albany teams play interleague games against Little League teams from Richmond, Pinole, San Rafael and North and South Oakland, as well as El Cerrito Youth Baseball. The league has just completed its regular season and is currently hosting tournament games involving teams from around the East Bay, from Alameda in the west to Pittsburg and Antioch in eastern Contra Costa County. Many hundreds of kids from around the Bay Area play on Albany fields every season.

ALL alumni are heavily represented at and on other local high school teams. Many have gone on to play college baseball and some have played professionally, including organization. But the most important legacy of ALL is the thousands of players who have played on our fields as children—three generations of some Albany families.

Without baseball fields Albany Little League could not exist. of The University of California and our donors, ALL has the use of : Bobby Sujishi Field for Rookie League (ages 6-7), and Victory Field and David Krone Field for players up through age 12. Victory Field has been in continuous operation as a youth baseball field since 1944.  

In coordination with the city of Albany's Recreation & Community Services Department (in particular Community Services Director Penelope Leach and Recreation Coordinator Nick Jordan) ALL also schedules games at Albany Memorial Park (Junior League, ages 13-14 and Senior League, ages 14-16) and at Ocean View Park (T-ball, ages 5 & 6). A mutually beneficial partnership with the City of Albany allows ALL to support the maintenance of these fields.  With the cooperation of the Albany Unified School District and Superintendent Marla Stephenson many single-A (ages 8 and 9) games are now played at Cougar Field. 

Competition from many sports organizations for the use of City of Berkeley fields is intense, and historically ALL has only received a few of the available time-slots. The Berkeley Unified School District has allowed ALL to use King Middle School baseball field for team practices this season, and our volunteers have made field improvements there as well.

The number of players in ALL has more than doubled in the past decade, and this rapid growth has just about exhausted the capacity of the baseball and softball fields available to us. If ALL loses access to the fields it now has, we will have to turn away players.

The Regents of the University of California have a long-term development plan for the land that they own at the University Village, including commercial development along San Pablo Avenue adjacent to the ALL baseball fields. Recently, as one result of several years of negotiations between the City of Albany and the University—in which all community members had a voice—the University agreed in writing for at least 10 years and to are moved in the future. However this agreement is conditional on the development going forward. If it does not, the University has the right to develop the site for housing, and is under no obligation to replace the fields.

The City Council on whether to accept the Planning & Zoning Commission’s recommendation to for . This is a major decision for Albany, and there is a range of opinions in the community on how to proceed, which have been aired and responded to over the past several years. Many community members have expressed concern over the impact of the development on the baseball fields at University Village, and after extensive discussions between Albany Little League and UC staff, ALL is very pleased with the University’s commitment to preserving youth baseball fields in Albany.

ALL is growing when many recreational youth sports leagues in the United States are shrinking, and a big part of the reason is that ALL is a community. In contrast to our neighboring leagues, our fields are centrally located and in close proximity to one another. ALL is a place where kids can play ball in a safe and secure environment and their parents can socialize with friends & neighbors. Albany Little League contributes to the small town ambience that the City of Albany values.

ALL is an entirely volunteer, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and its member-elected Board of Directors meets monthly. More information is available at www.albanylittleleague.org. 

Jack Miller
President, Albany Little League

Click the "Keep me posted" button below for an update when we publish future stories on the Whole Foods project. Learn about the proposed .

Albany Patch welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor via albany@patch.com.