Softball Association needs to right ship, Meier says
Caleb Soptelean & Stacy Barnes
A representative of the Optimist Club has called for the Mustang Softball Association to run a tighter ship.
Ray Meier spoke at last week’s council meeting and requested the city require the Mustang Softball Association to pay for maintenance of their fields.
“This city is not parks and recreation friendly at all,” Meier said Thursday. He called maintenance of the softball and baseball fields “a low priority.”
Baseball and adult softball make a profit, but softball does not, Meier said. Baseball and adult softball made $12,000 and $9,000 last year, but softball lost $30,000.
“I want softball to make money so they’re not sucking up the (city’s) money,” Meier said. “I want them to run softball like a business.”
He said the Optimist Club does what maintenance it can on its fields near the sewer plant, but the city foots the bill for maintenance of the softball fields at Wild Horse Park, which Meier called “a premier park.”
“I want softball to pull their load,” he said. “When they’re in the red, the money I make has to make up their share. I expect some money from the city to get the one (field) we have playable again.
“Mustang Youth Softball has lost money for four straight years. Why is the city asking for funds transfer instead of insisting on it?”
City Manager David Cockrell said the city council is going to consider building a new baseball facility as part of its five-year capital infrastructure plan. That’s not good enough for Meier, however. He said he would have to wait five years for this to happen, and that’s too long.
“If your car has 75,000 miles and you want to buy a new one (in a few years), does that mean you’re going to quit maintaining the old one?
“I expect the city to ask softball to help. Let softball decide how they’re going to come up with (the money). They’ve got a free ride as far as maintenance goes.”
Meier said the Softball Association can improve its bottom line if they stop playing double headers. These only benefit out of area teams, he said. “Eliminate doubleheaders. This will double the gate.” If this results in losing out-of-area teams, the Softball Association can make up for it by allowing more local teams to play.
Some Mustang teams and individuals were not allowed to participate in the league this year, Meier said. At last week’s council meeting, Ward I Councilman Jay Adams said his daughter wasn’t allowed to compete in the softball league despite playing the sport for a number of years.
In a phone interview after the meeting MSA President and Tournament Director Gwen Thompson said the organization is doing all it can to help offset its losses.
“We pay a usage fee to the facility. Out of the $3 per person who comes through the gate we pay the city $2 to run the fields,” she said. “Everything we make we turn back into the fields.”
Thompson said MSA purchases items the city needs to use on the fields as well as pay for umpires, trophies and balls. She said she is pleased with the way the fields are run and does not see a need for change from her organization.
“The first year we lost a lot of money and the second year we cut that deficit by over $25,000. Last year we went from an $85,000 loss to about $15,000,” she said. “Anybody who ran a business and saw that it went from losing $100,000 to $15,000 in three years would be thrilled. I don’t know that the deficit will ever completely go away, but the city is making great strides.”
Thompson pointed out that softball carries other benefits, which are not calculated in the budget numbers.
“I can go to any restaurant in this town and they are asking for (tournament) schedules because they have to know when to staff heavier. And everybody needs to go to Wal-Mart when they’re here. At every tournament people ask where Wal-Mart is,” she said. “Do their numbers reflect in what the fields do? No.”
As for eliminating double headers, Thompson said that it would hurt the program because it is a big draw for parents and coaches who like have a set schedule and enjoy only playing softball one night a week. She said other programs are starting to implement the same schedule and using Mustang’s league as an example.
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Hewitt said the city and MSA work together but that the city allows the softball organization to make its own decisions.
“The city does not dictate how MSA runs their league,” he said. “They pay a usage fee to the city and we maintain the fields, but we are not involved in their operations.”
He confirmed that the profit made from baseball is used to offset the loss at the softball complex.
“I think what Ray wants is for the money generated from baseball to go back into baseball,” Hewitt said.
A budget meeting will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Mustang Police Department. Hewitt said he expects the issue of the baseball fields to be discussed at the meeting, which is open to the public.
Caleb Soptelean & Stacy Barnes
A representative of the Optimist Club has called for the Mustang Softball Association to run a tighter ship.
Ray Meier spoke at last week’s council meeting and requested the city require the Mustang Softball Association to pay for maintenance of their fields.
“This city is not parks and recreation friendly at all,” Meier said Thursday. He called maintenance of the softball and baseball fields “a low priority.”
Baseball and adult softball make a profit, but softball does not, Meier said. Baseball and adult softball made $12,000 and $9,000 last year, but softball lost $30,000.
“I want softball to make money so they’re not sucking up the (city’s) money,” Meier said. “I want them to run softball like a business.”
He said the Optimist Club does what maintenance it can on its fields near the sewer plant, but the city foots the bill for maintenance of the softball fields at Wild Horse Park, which Meier called “a premier park.”
“I want softball to pull their load,” he said. “When they’re in the red, the money I make has to make up their share. I expect some money from the city to get the one (field) we have playable again.
“Mustang Youth Softball has lost money for four straight years. Why is the city asking for funds transfer instead of insisting on it?”
City Manager David Cockrell said the city council is going to consider building a new baseball facility as part of its five-year capital infrastructure plan. That’s not good enough for Meier, however. He said he would have to wait five years for this to happen, and that’s too long.
“If your car has 75,000 miles and you want to buy a new one (in a few years), does that mean you’re going to quit maintaining the old one?
“I expect the city to ask softball to help. Let softball decide how they’re going to come up with (the money). They’ve got a free ride as far as maintenance goes.”
Meier said the Softball Association can improve its bottom line if they stop playing double headers. These only benefit out of area teams, he said. “Eliminate doubleheaders. This will double the gate.” If this results in losing out-of-area teams, the Softball Association can make up for it by allowing more local teams to play.
Some Mustang teams and individuals were not allowed to participate in the league this year, Meier said. At last week’s council meeting, Ward I Councilman Jay Adams said his daughter wasn’t allowed to compete in the softball league despite playing the sport for a number of years.
In a phone interview after the meeting MSA President and Tournament Director Gwen Thompson said the organization is doing all it can to help offset its losses.
“We pay a usage fee to the facility. Out of the $3 per person who comes through the gate we pay the city $2 to run the fields,” she said. “Everything we make we turn back into the fields.”
Thompson said MSA purchases items the city needs to use on the fields as well as pay for umpires, trophies and balls. She said she is pleased with the way the fields are run and does not see a need for change from her organization.
“The first year we lost a lot of money and the second year we cut that deficit by over $25,000. Last year we went from an $85,000 loss to about $15,000,” she said. “Anybody who ran a business and saw that it went from losing $100,000 to $15,000 in three years would be thrilled. I don’t know that the deficit will ever completely go away, but the city is making great strides.”
Thompson pointed out that softball carries other benefits, which are not calculated in the budget numbers.
“I can go to any restaurant in this town and they are asking for (tournament) schedules because they have to know when to staff heavier. And everybody needs to go to Wal-Mart when they’re here. At every tournament people ask where Wal-Mart is,” she said. “Do their numbers reflect in what the fields do? No.”
As for eliminating double headers, Thompson said that it would hurt the program because it is a big draw for parents and coaches who like have a set schedule and enjoy only playing softball one night a week. She said other programs are starting to implement the same schedule and using Mustang’s league as an example.
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Hewitt said the city and MSA work together but that the city allows the softball organization to make its own decisions.
“The city does not dictate how MSA runs their league,” he said. “They pay a usage fee to the city and we maintain the fields, but we are not involved in their operations.”
He confirmed that the profit made from baseball is used to offset the loss at the softball complex.
“I think what Ray wants is for the money generated from baseball to go back into baseball,” Hewitt said.
A budget meeting will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Mustang Police Department. Hewitt said he expects the issue of the baseball fields to be discussed at the meeting, which is open to the public.
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