Population growth puts pressure on Halifax sports fields, parent says

Athletes find themselves on the sidelines as the competition for sports facilities grows.

Halifax’s population passed the half-a-million mark last year, putting pressure on health care, housing and even the summer sports scene.

Mike Burgess, a minor baseball parent in Dartmouth, says the shortage of baseball diamonds, paired with an outdated booking system for teams, leaves little time to play and practice.

“It’s frustrating and disappointing,” said Burgess. “You pay and you want your kids to develop, and they are just not getting the time to be able to get on the fields, to grow, develop and hang with their friends.”

Burgess has launched a petition online to address the lack of playing fields and what he calls a scheduling nightmare.

“Teams aren’t allowed to go onto an open field if they haven’t paid and rented it,” said Burgess. “What I’ve done is taken some of the kids to random green spaces to work on our pitching, to work on our fielding, but it’s not the same experience and it’s not the full team.”

Burgess says once his petition hits 1,000, he’ll take it to Halifax council, but he says the scheduling issues could be fixed easily with more advanced software.

“All teams need to be able have visibility (in scheduling) and to see when fields are open,” said Burgess.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page