JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Atlantic Beach Farmers Market is a massive community draw, drawing families from all over the community. However, some baseball parents say it’s now created a conflict for their child athletes.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
The recent concerns stem after the city of Atlantic Beach started telling parents and the Atlantic Beach Athletic Association the children can no longer use their baseball fields at Jack Russell Park before 2:30 p.m. on Sundays due to the popular market.
“For the all-star teams to get any kind or practice or to play against other parks, they need Sundays,” explained Atlantic Beach Athletic Association president Kelly Hampton.
“It’s sad that we have to wait until after 2:30,” said Sandy Sheloski, whose two boys play for the athletic association at Jack Russel. “Because when you have to put eight teams on three fields, it turns into six and seven o’clock at night, which is hard on a Sunday.”
Since the disruption first began just over 2 weeks ago, parents like Sheloski have been quick to speak out - voicing their concerns to city officials.
Now those children and the athletic association have to find other fields to practice on, and sometimes those are already fully booked.
Those same parents and the athletic association say they’ve contributed thousands of dollars into maintaining those fields, adding that they’re specifically for use by the athletic association.
“We just put in new batting cages with raising money from it, and it’s just a community feel here, and it’s awesome,” Sheloski said. “It’s just a big community feel and I hate that getting taken away from them.”
Now, with parents planning to show out to the Atlantic Beach City Commission Monday night at 6 p.m. to voice their concerns, there is hope a solution may be on the horizon to put their kids back on the diamond.
“I feel like we’re gonna get this worked out to the satisfaction of both parties, both the city and the baseball league,” Hampton said Sunday. “I’m really hopeful that that’ll happen pretty soon.”
Action News Jax has reached out to the city to learn more about this situation, but hasn’t heard back yet.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
