Baseball association cries foul over HRM proposal to convert field for cricket

The Halifax Regional Municipality is proposing to convert ball diamonds on the Dartmouth Common into the city's first dedicated, league-sized cricket field in the next two years.

While cricket organizers are excited about the news, members of the baseball community are wondering where it leaves them.

“It's [the baseball field] used all the time, so I just question why the city is going in this way,” said Kyle Wagner, whose child plays with the Porters Lake Schooners of the Dartmouth District Minor Baseball Association.

Cricket players have access to two fields locally: one on the Halifax Common and one in Don Bayer Park in Burnside. Together, they were booked for more than 1,400 hours last year.

"Right now we are so desperate for the bookings we play weekdays too ... but then we have to take time off," said Amit Joshi, president of the Nova Scotia Cricket Association.

The association shares a field on the Halifax Common with other sports, so there are limits to how often they can play on that site.

The Burnside location is atop an old landfill, and holes on the unlevel field have led to injuries.

"The reality is, it's really a dump," said Joshi.

The shortage of field space has caused the women's league to stall, and junior players are having to play with seniors or not play at all, added Joshi.

Baseball group suggests shared space

In a June 14 Facebook post, the Dartmouth District Minor Baseball Association said it has also struggled this season to find field space for its players, and criticized the municipality's proposal for the Dartmouth Common.

"W e support the expansion of facilities to include cricket," the post said. "The real question is why a thriving program serving more than 1,600 young athletes is being asked to surrender a well-used, accessible field rather than pursuing solutions that accommodate growth in both sports."

The baseball association's online petition calling for a shared-use model for the field had more than 2,700 signatures as of Sunday.

But Joshi said that plan wouldn't solve his association's problem.

"The issue with the shared space would be the same —we're not going to get enough booking."

Right size, shape for cricket

Coun. Tony Mancini, who represents Dartmouth East Burnside, said the Dartmouth Common site was chosen partly because it's the right size and shape for cricket league play. Its proximity to other ball diamonds means displaced ball players have nearby alternatives, he said.

Wagner disagreed.

"Absolutely not. I don't know where HRM is getting their data," he said.

"There's ball fields, but when it comes to hardball, you need a pitching mat. So they can make the argument that there is enough fields, but there isn't enough proper fields."

A municipal staff report outlining the project said the province has contributed $1 million toward the development of a cricket field. That money can also be used to upgrade nearby ball diamonds, such as adding lighting, to increase scheduling capacity for that sport and speed up the conversion of the Dartmouth Common field for cricket by fall 2028, the report said.

The report added that "partnership opportunities are also being explored with Baseball Nova Scotia" for potential new field development and other improvements to ball diamonds.

The municipality's long-term playing field strategy recommends establishing multi-diamond complexes as well as a multi-sport field complex to help address shortages.

“There’s an opportunity here, and I think this is forcing us to make some decisions that we may have delayed,” said Mancini.

The cricket field project will return to council for discussion Tuesday.

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