Baseball clubs balk at higher fees to use Tucson's Kino fields

With the loss of major-league baseball, the county has had a greater focus on recovering costs for the use of its facilities, said Hank Atha, deputy county administrator for economic and community development.

"We'd been looking at revising the fee schedule for a couple years, but the loss of revenue really pushed us to look at doing a better job of recovering costs," he said, adding that players need to pony up what it costs to run the lights and maintain the fields.

But with leagues renewing their agreements for the next season, some ballclubs are finding they've been priced out of the market by new fees adopted by county supervisors in mid-April.

Jim Baugher, the president of the Tucson Men's Senior Baseball League, said his club used to pay $40 a game on Sundays. That jumped to $120. The $80 he paid for lighted fields now starts at $180 and goes as high as $336 per game.

"We love to play on their fields, but it's just not affordable," said Baugher, whose 24-team league has been playing at Kino since it opened.

"Our league exists to provide players within Tucson an opportunity to play baseball without hurting them financially," he said, saying league members pay $250 to play the season running from April to October.

Baugher said after he complained to the county, officials offered a 25 percent discount, but it's still too much - especially when Reid Park remains affordable.

According to the county's estimates, the club paid about $4,700 for its 75 games. The new fee schedule is more than $11,500, including 42 higher-fee night games. Even with the discount, that still works out to nearly double what the club has historically paid.

Plus, he noted, the county has now added a $52 fee to chalk the field and another $1 per space per day for parking.

The county is going to lose out on the several thousand dollars his league contributes every year, he said.

"If they want the fields empty, that's their choice, but it would seem to me the county would be better off having some money coming in."

Softball was hit with a nominal increase, and fees for soccer were actually reduced at the same time baseball fees were raised.

Lannie Hartman, a retired 911 operator, is another one distressed about the impact of the new fee schedule for baseball.

Her grandson, a high school senior on the east side, is an avid baseball player, leaving her with concerns about how the new fees will hit youth sports.

Already, parents in many schools are struggling to pay the costs for their kids to play, she said.

And while high schools generally host each other during the season, Kino is frequently used for winter leagues and tournaments. Now, she said, there are going to be a lot of groups seeking new venues.

"I think they're running sideways trying to make up for losing major-league ball, and now they're going to do it on the backs of small teams," she said.

County Supervisors Ramón Valadez and Ray Carroll both asked County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to look into the complaints.

Carroll said the county might be going overboard in its attempt to get full cost recovery. "I'm in favor of keeping the kids and adults and seniors playing there," he said. "It's a community asset and the community needs to get the value out of it or else it's a waste of money if the fields just sit there empty."

Deputy Administrator Atha said that while he didn't hear many complaints initially, the push-back is starting now that people are coming in to register for the new year and are getting word of the increases.

He has granted four waiver requests, offering the 25 percent discount.

It's too early, he said, to revisit changing the schedule. "I would recommend letting it ride another quarter, possibly two, and see whether we've had any abandonment of use and consider whether to make any changes at that point."

Is there a risk Kino might lose baseball business altogether as people seek other venues? "I don't know whether there's a risk of that or not. We'll know better by October," he said.

Contact reporter Rhonda Bodfield at rbodfield@azstarnet.com or 573-4243.