Organizations and city officials hope all parties could collaborate on fair use of field space and resources
Malibu Bluffs Park, the hub for much of the city’s family-oriented fun and activities, has become the subject of a field space and equipment use dispute between two of the city’s legacy youth sports organizations and Malibu’s newest youth soccer organization.
The topic of field space and equipment use was addressed at the Malibu City Council meeting on Oct. 9. The discussion was led by AYSO National Executive Member Paul Bellamy, AYSO Regional Executive Board Members Scott Schoenberger and Amora Magna, Malibu Little League President John Alfano and Malibu Little League Vice President Jake Lingo.
The discussion was in response to complaints made to the City Council by MLS GO powered by Views FC.
Leading off the discussion was Lingo, who in support of AYSO expressed concern in what he called an unreasonable use of Bluffs field space and equipment use. He also expressed concern in future disputes over field space between MLL and Views FC once the baseball season returns in the spring.
“There are times that other groups use the fields and we always try to make accommodations for everyone to use Bluffs Park, but we should not be expected to do so at the detriment of our leagues,” Lingo said. “It seems to me that MLS GO has promised an experience for its members without first investing into the equipment that is needed and securing field space but now expects use of AYSO’s equipment and space to the detriment of AYSO, and that does not seem reasonable.”
Schoenberger addressed the difficulty of obtaining field space, and said the opportunities to secure field time are sparse, at times even not being enough field space for even their legacy organization to operate effectively.
“We’ve faced a lot of challenges throughout the decades over field space,” Schoenberger said. “As a matter of fact, in the postseason we don’t have any field space, so postseason teams have even gone and practiced on a tennis court. We’d love to have some more field space, that would be great.”
Addressing the use of AYSO-owned equipment was Magna, who read an official response from the league to the complaints made by MLS Go and Views FC. She said AYSO has never been formally approached by MLS GO or Views for the usage of their soccer goals, thus have not been considered for permitted use of the equipment and any use of the goals thus far has been done without permission.
“The recent issues regarding equipment usage by other programs, in particular, the AYSO-owned goals, seemed to have caused a problem and have led to some unfortunate comments that are untrue and are circulating among the community,” Magna said. “The goals are purchased, maintained and periodically replaced at considerable cost to Malibu AYSO, therefore it is not acceptable to expect the right to use AYSO’s expensive equipment without consideration.”
Notably absent from the council meeting were representatives from MLS GO or Views FC.
Speaking in response to the City Council discussion, Views FC Founder and Coach Rodney Wallace said that his organization has been operating at Bluffs during field times permitted by the city and said he does not understand how his organization is acting as a detriment to the other sports organizations.
“I have out of my own pocket reserved our timeframes, these are the only time frames available to me. We’re working with what we have, but the scheduling issues we have run into are that we can’t even fit on the schedule,” Wallace said. “This is the only way we operate, we’re not going to just show up when it’s not our time, we do everything we can do to have time to practice and schedule our games.”
Wallace acknowledged that AYSO and MLL operate in conjunction with bigger city, state and country-wide programs and understands their history and legacy in the city, but hopes his fast-developing program could establish a partnership with these organizations that helps build on the child development programs as a whole in the city.
He said that although he may not be on the same page with AYSO and MLL, he said the discussion of field space that took place on Oct. 9 was a sign of progress toward an ultimate solution that will benefit youth sports in Malibu. He said he hopes all parties could collaborate on a fair use of space and resources.
“When I saw that MLS GO was being addressed at the City Council meeting I thought this is pretty cool,” Wallace said. “They are paying attention to issues that need to be addressed. It’s a testament to what’s being built at MLS GO and highlighting the necessity of field space for our kids. This is actually a really good time to be a unit.”
Mirroring the sentiments of Wallace was Lingo who said he hopes the organizations could continue to be good stewards of Bluffs Park.
“We’ll continue to work with MLS GO or any other organization to share space when possible but should not have to sacrifice precious field space whenever a new organization decides to come to town,” Lingo said. “We will be meeting with Chris Orosz this week to discuss the situation and figure out a way to help MLS GO and help the city solve this issue.”
Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring said he is hopeful a resolution could be met among the children’s sports programs. He spoke to Lingo asking for his diligence in negotiations over field space.
“I encourage you to continue, keep talking to the other sides and see if something could be worked out,” Uhring said.