GONE! AHSAA moves softball championships to Oxford
The Lagoon Park softball complex has been home to the AHSAA State Softball Championships since 1986. That streak was officially broken on Wednesday with the announcement that the tournament was moving to Oxford in May. (Staff Photo)
By TIM GAYLE
It’s a conversation city officials have had for nearly 10 years.
After all the talk by city officials --- and very little action -- the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board voted on Wednesday to move its state softball tournament out of the Capital City and relocate it in Oxford’s Choccolocco Park.
The 45-year-old Lagoon Park Softball Complex long ago was passed by more modern softball facilities as city officials continued to provide cosmetic changes here and there in hopes of appeasing AHSAA officials.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to keep that tournament because it’s a huge (economic) impact,” then-director of leisure services Wiley Steen said in 2013 prior to another round of renovation promises that went unfulfilled. “We have to keep it looking good because a lot of people want that event.”
There have been three directors and two mayors involved in those negotiations since the City of Montgomery was put on the clock and whether the current mayor and his staff thought the AHSAA was bluffing or they just didn’t care, one of the city’s largest sporting events has left the city in what is clearly an embarrassing blunder by city officials.
“I knew there had been a lot of discussion about taking it out of Montgomery if the facilities were not greatly improved,” said Chris Goodman, coach of the defending state champion Alabama Christian Academy softball team. “I completely understand playing at a nicer place. I guess Montgomery didn’t heed the warning signs.”
AHSAA executive director Steve Savarese had declined on several occasions to discuss specific upgrades that had been requested, saying he didn’t want the city to feel backed into a corner. City officials apparently didn’t, failing to meet most of the upgrades that former mayor Todd Strange had discussed in a projected $2 million renovation plan but still hopeful the tournament -- which has been in Montgomery since its inception in 1986 -- would remain.
Failure to convert slow pitch fields at either Lagoon or Fain parks into a fast pitch facility and instead relying on portable fencing was an insult to coaches who felt their sport was not getting championship-level respect by continuing to play at the outdated Lagoon Park.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to play our state softball championships at a complex that is designed solely for fast-pitch softball, has experience hosting state and national events and has a signature field and stadium just for championship games,” said Kim Vickers, AHSAA assistant director in charge of softball. “We are also extremely grateful to the City of Montgomery and its Parks and Recreation Department for its partnership with the AHSAA. Lagoon Park has been an excellent host since 1986. The regional softball tournament at Lagoon will provide a more centralized location for the teams in that compete in that regional.”
AHSAA officials simply swapped the facility hosts, choosing Oxford to host the championships and Montgomery to host the East Central Regional, which had been located in Oxford. The regionals do not provide nearly the same economic impact, however, because the lack of travel doesn’t require as many hotel rooms or restaurant trips for the participating teams and their fans.
The East Central Regional currently hosts teams in areas 8-11, which likely will be changed to areas 5-9. That means teams such as Catholic, Prattville Christian, Trinity, Brew Tech, Pike Road, Tallassee, Elmore County, Holtville, Marbury, Benjamin Russell, Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka will be playing at Lagoon Park on May 12-15 instead of Tuscaloosa, but it also means that other local teams such as LAMP, ACA, St. James, Carver, Lanier, Lee and Park Crossing will continue to travel to Mobile for a regional instead of Montgomery.
If those teams are fortunate enough to be one of the two finalists in the South Region, they will now travel another 150 miles to participate in the state tournament as well.
Although the AHSAA’s contract with Lagoon Park as a championship venue expired last year -- and city officials knew for some time it would not be renewed -- softball coaches were caught off guard by Wednesday’s decision to change the postseason format with regionals starting a month from Friday.
“I can’t believe they did it this year because of (having to secure) hotels and all that stuff,” Goodman said. “It makes it a little tough on us as far as that goes.”
AHSAA officials, in their press release on Wednesday, lauded the City of Montgomery for its handling of other high school championship events, but obviously those are now under the microscope as well. The baseball championships, for example, are held at Riverwalk and Paterson, the latter a 72-year-old facility that has undergone few changes in its history. Other cities with multiple baseball facilities such as Mobile, Birmingham or Huntsville can simply point at the city’s neglect of Paterson as incentive to move the baseball championships out of the capital city as well.
The softball championships, meanwhile, would be a longshot to return to Montgomery. If the city has done little to Lagoon in its 45-year history since adding a sixth field 24 years ago, why start now?
“I would think the state (AHSAA) would want everything centrally located with baseball and softball together,” Goodman said. “That (new format) will be harder on the reporters to cover both, it’ll be harder for the (AHSAA) staff to cover both.”
Lagoon Park will continue to serve as the host site for the Alabama Independent School Association state championships in 2021, although several municipalities have stepped forward with offers to host the event when the current contract expires.
“I don’t think (the AHSAA decision) changes anything we’ve already been thinking or doing,” AISA executive director Michael McLendon said. “We have one more year on our current contract so we’ll begin negotiations with the city next year. Depending on how those conversations go will determine if we move any championships.
“Any facility you’re working with has a continuing process of finding new ways to improve the venue. You hope everyone does that. We’ve had groups contact us with interest in moving those (championship) events but we obviously haven’t made a move like the Alabama High School Athletic Association has.”