Teams say Pittsburgh neglecting baseball field named for fallen officer

PITTSBURGH — Local baseball players and coaches claim they’ve been striking out when it comes to requesting that the City of Pittsburgh repair a damaged field.

“It just keeps getting worse and now it’s completely unplayable,” said Gregory Allen, a parent and coach part of the 14th Ward Youth Baseball Association.

Allen tells Channel 11 that for years, the infield has been in rough shape at the Officer Eric Kelly Memorial Field in Stanton Heights. The field was named in honor of Officer Kelly after he and two other Pittsburgh police officers were killed in the neighborhood back in 2009.

On Tuesday, Channel 11 spotted large puddles, divots and craters all over the infield.

“We’ve canceled practices,” Allen said. “We did hold one practice on this field but in the outfield. We’re supposed to have games coming up ... we have one scheduled next week, but we’re looking for other fields to switch it to and that’s tough in the city.”

Allen said he and other teams have reached out to city officials numerous times, but nothing gets done.

Channel 11 found a tweet from 2018, where the “Pirates RBI” account calls the field “unusable.”

That same year, the city announced that the field would soon be updated following a donation from Pirates Charities.

Allen said that work was never completed.

Tuesday, we asked the city what has caused the instability at the field and what’s caused the delay in getting it fixed. City spokesman Tim McNulty responded:

“DPW crews are scheduled to be there today doing maintenance. The park is in line for major renovations that are expected to be announced this summer.”

A sign at the field mentions upcoming renovations as well, noting “your tax dollars are working toward a better Pittsburgh.”

Police Commander Praises The Memory Of Officer Eric Kelly Police Commander Praises The Memory Of Officer Eric Kelly

©2021 Cox Media Group