http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/Oakland-drops-the-ball-on-Little-League-showcase-5470087.php
Oakland drops the ball on Little League showcase, A's say
Phillip Matier And Andrew Ross
Updated 3:01 am, Monday, May 12, 2014

Oakland Little League players practice at Bushrod Park, which was to benefit from a fundraiser featuring the A's. Photo: Andrew Ross, The Chronicle
It seemed like a Field of Dreams - the mighty Oakland A's helping to turn an old ball field where Rickey Hendersonand Billy Martin once played into a Little League showcase.
Instead, what was supposed to be a grand celebration involving the A's, the local Little League and the city Parks and Recreation Department turned into a tailspin of frustration, including accusations of bureaucratic bungling and squandered opportunities.
"I'm just disappointed that the city couldn't get it together," said Mike Anglin, president of the North Oakland Little League and South Oakland Little League.
It all started with great promise a few months back with a pitch from Anglin's parents to the nonprofit Good Tidings Foundation, which works with the A's on charity projects.
The idea: to help renovate one of the three ball fields at North Oakland's Bushrod Park just off Shattuck Avenue for the kids.
For the city, it was a chance to snag as much as $150,000 in private money and in-kind support.
For Anglin's Little League, it was an opportunity to get a spiffed-up playing field for 12- and 13-year-olds, along with a league-financed concessions stand that would bring in a constant stream of revenue.
For the A's, it was a chance to play hometown heroes.
Both the A's and Good Tidings figured getting the city approvals would be no problem, because they had worked with Parks and Rec in the past.
Instead the city ticked off a list of concerns.
For starters, there was the question of who would maintain the grass in the redone infield.
The city, which mows the outfield once a month, couldn't afford the extra attention the infield needed - but labor rules prevented it from simply outsourcing the job to Little League.
Oakland finally consented to letting Little League cut the grass - but only if it used a push mower, because of the potential liability involving power mowers.
The city also balked at the A's and Good Tidings Foundation's plan to speed installation of a sprinkler system, saying they had to obtain all manner of permits and permission - and that would take weeks.
Most of all, however, Parks and Rec objected to the plan to make the infield Little League-size - saying it would make the field unplayable for high school and adult teams that might want to use it.
Parks department officials did not make themselves available for comment. But department spokeswoman Dana Reillydid provide a written summary of the discussions with the A's and Little League that said, "The smaller field would eliminate current activities that serve over 5,500 youth and adult users."
Anglin, however, tells us Little League is the only permit holder for that field. Oakland Tech's junior-varsity team, he says, plays on an adjacent diamond.
Even if they had worked out a deal, it was clear nothing would have been ready by Saturday, when the A's had penciled in a star-studded PR event at Bushrod.
"We hit a number of roadblocks with the city and just couldn't get it done," said Ken Pries, A's vice president for communications.
In a late March e-mail exchange with the team, parks department boss Audree Jones-Taylor apologized for "the delays and lack of follow-through on our part," and urged the A's to give them more time.
"This is truly unfortunate and certainly sad for our children who play on this field," Jones-Taylor wrote.
By then, however, the A's had had enough.
"The restrictions and obstacles we continue to face make it impossible to continue," Detra Paige, the team's director of community relations, wrote to Jones-Taylor.
"As a result, we will have to work with another city in the East Bay."
And that's just what they did. The A's are now set to dedicate a refurbished Little League field at Richmond's Martin Luther King Jr. Park on May 30 - and there will even be a game played.
"That's how quick we can turn it around," Pries said, adding that "Richmond was able to make it happen" without all the bureaucratic fuss.
"And not only will they allow the Little League to maintain it," he said, "but they also got a city gardener assigned to that park to help out."