PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The upcoming football season is in jeopardy for some children in Port St. Lucie after their travel league said they have no space to host games or practices.
Port St. Lucie has three parks with the space to house a youth football league. The issue is that there are several football leagues in the city.
With limited field space and upcoming youth football games, the Treasure Coast Spartans youth football league may have to either cancel the season or move to a different city.
With more than 220 players, the Treasure Coast Spartans are among the largest leagues in the area.
"We've been in the city of Port St. Lucie for about five years," team president Ryan O'Neill said. "We were under the banner of another local league who decided at some point last year they didn't want to do travel, so a few of us picked up the baton and picked up the league and continued it on."
However, even with hundreds of kids in the league, the organization still needs to find a permanent field to play and practice on.
"We had quite a bit of interest in running a spring football league at that time, but we were told there was no availability for the parks," O'Neill said. "They gave us maybe a three-week window to have some practice, but they said all the lighted fields were booked up, and there was nothing they could offer us."
Port St. Lucie has three youth football fields with lights: Sportsman Park, Whispering Pines and Jessica Clinton Park.
Port St. Lucie's Parks and Recreation department sent the following statement to WPTV regarding the matter:
"With the growth in population, city fields and courts are in high demand, and because of limited availability, the City of Port St. Lucie Parks & Recreation Department may decline requests from new sports groups to reserve fields for games and practice sessions. Field requests submitted by non-recognized users are processed on a first-come, first-served basis up to 90 days in advance."
O'Neill pushed back on that policy.
"Right now, the city has a 90-day policy where you can only book a field 90 days out from when you need it," O'Neill said. "We need a plan ... much further out than 90 days."
Unfortunately for players and his league, O'Neil said that if the city can't find a middle ground, they will have to look for a new location to play.
"Most of our players and parents are from the city of Port St. Lucie," O'Neill said. "It's where our central location is, and that's where the easiest place for them to get children to practice and games."