Elusive fields For recreation teams in and around Portland, it can be hard to find a place to play

Here’s a nightmare for you: It’s Wednesday, at 6 p.m., and my Men’s Open League (sometimes it’s called the Southern Maine Soccer League) soccer team (the Portland Master United Fighting Penguins — don’t ask) is scheduled to play the Wood Ducks on the Deering High School practice field, out behind Deering High School, on Stevens Avenue in Portland. At first, it’s more like a nice dream. People of all walks of life and all ages are playing all sorts of sports. Fathers and daughters play tennis on the courts, aspiring to be the next Williams family. A group of twentysomethings are scrimmaging lacrosse, in full gear. Two Babe Ruth-level Little League teams go at it, the center fielder standing just about where my right defender might play on our field. Softball is going on somewhere to the right, though it’s unclear how organized they are. Really, it’s quite bucolic.

But then things turn ugly. It seems there are four teams looking to play on this Deering High practice field: us, the Wood Ducks (who are the home team), and two high-school-aged girls teams (from, I don’t know, Scarborough and Portland, or something).

" Aha, " says the Wood Ducks captain, Simon Varney, " we’ve got a usage letter from the city! " (I’m making up the dialogue.) " Oho, " returns the coach of the girls home team, " so do we. "

Nightmare.

And, well, they’ve got a whole bunch of fans and parents and what have you lined up, " So we sort of hopped the fence, " explains Wood Ducks captain Simon Varney, " somewhat unethically, I guess, and went over to play on the Memorial Field. So we played there for about 20 minutes [during which the Wood Ducks scored three times on us, but that’s another matter], and the two other girls’ teams showed up. And they actually had the key to the field, so there really wasn’t any arguing and we had to give up the field. "

So, we all go home, many of us having driven quite some way — from York, New Gloucester, and the like — only to find ourselves without a field.

" It’s a real downer, " says Varney, and it’s not just a one-time thing, but rather something that’s been plaguing his team since the first game of their season. " The whole thing is disappointing. You invest a lot of time in setting up the team and getting all the players together, and it’s a letdown when you get to the field and the goals aren’t set up, it isn’t lined, and there’s another team on the field.

" In fact, I went out and bought a line-striping machine, and bought the paint — I don’t know, $80 for the machine, another $50 for the paint — and I’ve actually lined that Deering practice field four times. Those lines you see I did. And these are services that the city is supposed to provide. "

Nor is it just soccer that’s affected. Check this post on the Portland Softball League Web site forum: " I’m shocked that no one has been seriously hurt playing the outfield. Too many ruts and humps out there. "

So what’s the problem? Joel St. Pierre, who is the recreation and facilities manager for the City of Portland, says that he’s simply maxed out. " The fields are at least 90 percent booked, if not 90 to 100 percent, " he says. " There’s not enough fields for the usage. We did a study a couple years ago, and we’re already at the figures expected for 2006.

" We have our own softball league, with 48 teams, six different baseball leagues, travel soccer, adult soccer, different frisbee teams, " the list goes on.

And the mix-up with the Wood Ducks wasn’t necessarily the city’s problem. There’s a likelihood that our league didn’t communicate well with the city, or the girls’ league didn’t communicate well with the city. It’s not the blame I’m concerned with, it’s the supply problem.

South Portland isn’t immune either. " There’s a crunch, " confirms Bill Kerry, who schedules and maintains the South Portland fields. " We run a co-ed softball league, and it’s been very difficult to get all the games in. I’ve had to turn away community youth leagues. There’s just nothing available. "

Luckily, there may be hope on the way for both communities. Portland is currently renovating the Fox Street field, down near Kennedy Park, which is notorious for being littered with broken glass, needles, and trash — and what comes out of the mouths of some of those kids who hang out behind the goals could peel paint. Plus, it’s been damned near bullet-proof because it gets so dry.

The trash and kids, the city can’t help (plus, they lend a nice character), but " once it’s got the irrigation system, " says St. Pierre, " it’s supposed to receive more abuse and stay in decent shape. " That should help. While it’s being renovated, however, that’s one more field down.

South Portland and Kerry are eagerly awaiting the Wainwright Field complex, the purchase of which the voters of South Portland just approved, to come online. Right now, our men’s league plays on it, hiking up through some woods to the former turf farm, but there is potential for as many as six youth fields, a baseball and softball field, even a football field to be installed.

" We’ve lost several fields, " notes Kerry. " There’s Kaler Field, which was replaced by Kaler Elementary School. And there was a space at Small School, and that’s being lost due to renovation. We really think when Wainwright opens for full use it will help to relieve a lot of [the demand]. "

The community could certainly use it. " Clearly, the city has to do a better job of managing the process, " says Varney. " It’s the city that’s on show, too. That’s why we all live in Portland. It’s part of the city life. And the city should do a better job of shining in these situations.

" I think it’s important because it adds to the quality of life that people in Portland have come to expect. "

Sam Pfeifle can be reached at spfeifle@phx.com