TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Home-Field Advantages

ADVERTISEMENT

By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 23, 2008

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - The dog days of summer may be here, but by Aug. 1, pigskins will be flying across MacDugal Park.

That's good news to the North East Tampa Pirates, a Pop Warner football team that has been seeking to relocate from Temple Crest Community Center for nearly five years. The team's proposal to build three practice fields with volunteer labor at 22nd Street Park was met with little enthusiasm from neighbors.

MacDugal Park, off Sligh Avenue between 12th and 13th streets, popped up as an alternative and received approval recently from city parks and recreation officials.

"The city is stepping up to do it," Pirates co-founder Joe Bouchard said. "The neat thing is we get to clean up the park. We're just excited about it."

The Temple Crest center is too small for the team's more than 300 players, ages 5 to 15.

During two public meetings, Seminole Crest residents said they worried about increased traffic and lighting and access problems if the team moved to the nearly pristine 22nd Park. The city backed away and began looking for other locations.

"We're glad that we found something amenable to the league without upsetting neighbors," project manager Brad Suder said. "We found a good resolution."

In recent years, MacDugal has been used infrequently for baseball and softball practice.

Plans are to tear down two dugouts, remove two baseball fields and install new fencing. The baseball field closest to Sligh will remain. It will be available for football, baseball and softball, Bouchard said.
Team volunteers plan to ask the City Council for approval to renovate a building at the park to use for equipment storage.

For information, call the Pirates at (813) 985-0843.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT