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Online now: 2 members: TABLE SETTER 11, Tab27; 81 anonymousDiscussion: VEGAS FIELDS
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| July 9, 2015 DBurke23 Men's 50 22 posts | VEGAS FIELDS I will be playing in Vegas for the first time this fall. I've read various opinions about the fields but have never seen anyone "rank" the fields. If some of you could respond with top 3 and bottom 3 that would be great. Thanks |
| July 9, 2015 JBTexas Men's 70 434 posts | Easy, Big League Dream is the best and Shadow Rock is the worst. All the rest follow in between. |
| July 9, 2015 antieinstein Men's 70 53 posts | Shadow Rock is a dump. Nobody should have to play all games at that location. Everyone should share the pain. Most of the fields in Vegas are very good. |
| July 9, 2015 stick8 1992 posts | In my humble opinion: Arroyo Grande: the best Field of Dreams: is good--gimmicky with different dimensions plus wall ball but field turf is nice to play on. Sunset: is OK, real hard infields though Shadow Rock: so so others I'm not familiar with |
| July 9, 2015 Dbax Men's 65 2101 posts | Actually the two north diamonds at Shadow Rock are outstanding the other two suck. Arroyo Grande, Big League Dreams, Desert Breeze, Sunset and Lorenzie are all good. Doc Romeo is fine also. Warm Springs, unless they have done some work there, not so good. |
| July 9, 2015 maurice 9 posts | Shadow Rock not so good. Big League Dreams and Arroyo Grande are both good. |
| July 10, 2015 Nancy Allen Men's 55 1438 posts | We played in Vegas for years; so this may have changed since then. Even with all of the nice complexes and all of the technology of Vegas, we never saw a scoreboard actually working, and we played at 6 different complexes and visited a few others. |
| July 11, 2015 antieinstein Men's 70 53 posts | Ms Allen WRONG!! Best place to play softball is VEGAS. Most scoreboards work. |
| July 11, 2015 JBTexas Men's 70 434 posts | played there 7 seven years and the only scoreboards that were working was BLD. |
| July 11, 2015 Dbax Men's 65 2101 posts | Working scoreboards have absolutely nothing to do with field quality. |
| July 11, 2015 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | It's not just Vegas, it is most scoreboards at most parks. Seems like there is seldom any daytime staff to work the scoreboards and it is a rare umpire who is interested in doing it himself. Even Big League Dreams often have scoreboards that are non-functional. I agree that this has little to do with field quality, but it has something to do with overall quality. |
| July 12, 2015 Nancy Allen Men's 55 1438 posts | Antieinstein, I agree that there are some wonderful fields there. We only ever had one complex that we thought was not good. All are right that working scoreboards do not correlate to field quality. I just found it interesting that all the times we played in Vegas that we never had a working scoreboard irregardless of which complex. Most of ours work here. To me Vegas is sometimes about the lights, only the ones on the ballpark scoreboards were not on. Neck10, the balls are still going through that gate even when it is closed. Yes, there are also a few bulbs burned out on that scoreboard. I guess he hasn't allocated budget for those major expenses yet. |
| July 13, 2015 Garocket Men's 55 259 posts | For years either Pepsi or Coke gave the scoreboards away and paid to have them serviced. Now neither does that. They do not even install them or pay to keep them up. The old bulb scoreboards use powerpacks that go out very easy. In our area we have a company that comes out but it is $150.00 service call plus $90.00 per hour labor plus parts. The powerpacks are around $60.00 each. With them going out quite easy. A four field complex should budget around $5000 per year for scoreboard service in the budget. Most parks cut that out very quickly. The new LED scoreboards cost about $4900 each and that does not count installation. They are pretty efficient but parks do not want to spend that $25,000 to put them in. But once they are in they are good for years |
| July 13, 2015 Gonedeep43 71 posts | Don't care about the scoreboards. What I do care about is the fact that SSUSA doesn't spread the pain when it comes to the less desirable fields in Vegas. The powers that be shouldn't automatically force 50AAA onto Shadow rock. The 40s won't be in town at the same time as the 50's and above, that should free up some room at other fields. Fair is fair. |
| July 13, 2015 TimMcElroy 942 posts | Gonedeep43, The 50-AAA division is the largest in the tournament. With 60 or more teams participating, no single facility in Las Vegas can handle it. To get it done on time you have to play games deep into the night. Some of the parks you are probably hoping to play at (BLD, Arroyo, Sunset, Desert Breeze) have league or other restrictions so they aren't an option for the large bracket divisions. Six of the eight diamonds used for the 50-AAA bracket games are excellent. The other two diamonds just aren't as nice. When the WMC first moved to Las Vegas, the 50-AAA bracket was played in a manner such that teams had to drive from one park to another based on the timing of their wins and losses. That created bad feelings from players who spent their weekend in traffic and/or racing from one park to another. None of that happens under the current system. |
| July 14, 2015 SSUSA Staff 3490 posts | The general "rule of thumb" is that six teams per diamond is about the ideal/maximum for a 5-game-guarantee format played over three days ... With 60+ teams in the 50-AAA, the best mix for 10 fields is: Lorenzi/Shadow Rock/Hollywood ... Those three facilities are also three of only five facilities unrestricted by local league play ... The other two are Desert Breeze and Doc Romeo ... The "If" game in the 50-AAA bracket last year was Game #139, which is what also requires the early Friday games to be spread laterally at three other complexes (Arroyo Grande, Doc Romeo and Desert Bloom) so that the bracket first round can be played on Friday afternoon and evening ... The 50-AAA is split into two pools, with principal pool sites being Lorenzi (National) and Shadow Rock (American) until the 10 surviving teams into Sunday converge at Shadow Rock ... We will make an effort this year to "cross over" as many returning teams as we can to the opposite primary pool site from where they have played on Friday and Saturday last year ... It may not be possible to cross over every team, but we will do what we can there ... Of course, if Big League Dreams is your preferred destination, please call the Sacramento office and ask for a rating change to 50-Major ... That would do it! |
| July 14, 2015 Gonedeep43 71 posts | BLD would be great, but really, any facility other than Shadow Rock and Hollywood would be an upgrade. Just because 50AAA is the largest group doesn't mean they should automatically be given two of the worst facilities. Lorenzi is a fine facility, but are you telling me that there isn't another facility amongst the many in Vegas and Henderson that could be used for 50AAA?? Shadow Rock and Hollywood are terrible and to say otherwise is an insult to those that have been force to play there. |
| July 14, 2015 SSUSA Staff 3490 posts | Gonedeep43: "...but are you telling me that there isn't another facility amongst the many in Vegas and Henderson that could be used for 50AAA??.." ... Yes, that's exactly what we are saying ... The proximity of Hollywood to Shadow Rock, their general proximity to Lorenzi and the unrestricted hours of play yield, by far, the best combination of fields for a 10-field package that can handle a 60+ team division. Here are the specifics on all of the other potential facilities and some of the issues they present for a Division having over 60 teams: • Arroyo Grande (4) • Local league restrictions Friday ... No game slots available after 2:00 PM • Big League Dreams (6) • Local league restrictions Friday (No game slots available after 3:30 PM) and Sunday afternoon local league restrictions on National League side (No game slots after 2:00 PM) • Bighorn/Hemenway (2) • Lacks game slot capacity and is a travel distance problem in a split-site Division • Cheyene Park (4) • Not currently acceptable as a tournament quality facility • Desert Bloom (2) • Lacks game slot capacity • Desert Breeze (4) • Under contract to another tournament promoter and not currently available to SSUSA for Session #3 • Doc Romeo Park (3) • Only a 3-field facility ... Lacks game slot capacity and has a safety issue with one field (#5) having limited ability to have a lot of HR's hit there due to youth skate park immediately outside of LF • Dos Escuelas (2) • Lacks game slot capacity ... Local league restrictions Friday (No game slots available after 2:00 PM) • Russell Road (2) • Lacks game slot capacity ... Local league restrictions Friday (No game slots available after 2:00 PM) • Sunset Park (6) • Local league restrictions Friday, Saturday and Sunday on four of six fields (No game slots available after 2:00 PM) ... Two fields are available late(r) • Warm Springs (2) • Lacks game slot capacity |
| July 14, 2015 17Black Men's 60 414 posts | ^^^^^ Dave (SSUSA STAFF) that about sums it up. THANK YOU!!! I don't think a lot of teams and players know what it takes to put on a tournament, especially one of this magnitude!!!!! Kudos to the SSUSA Staff for being as organized as possible, with multiple left turns to be up against at each and every tournament!!!! |
| July 14, 2015 AcePV Men's 60 29 posts | I appreciate the effort and hard work staff does in putting together such a huge tournament as the Worlds. It's too bad that Vegas Parks and Rec or whoever can't help out a little by simply not scheduling games on the Friday or Saturday nights needed for the tourney. After all, they are only rec games for goodness sakes that are played every week. |
| July 14, 2015 Gonedeep43 71 posts | Thanks for explaining it in such great detail. I agree with AcePV, with such a huge tourney, you would think some of those facilities would set aside their leagues for the week to accommodate our tournament. Wishful thinking?? |
| July 14, 2015 JBTexas Men's 70 434 posts | Staff, I guess the questions is why not go back to Phoenix if Vegas will not let us use they fields at the times needed???? |
| July 14, 2015 Sisavic 190 posts | How are the Sunset Park fields? Where do they rank among the other parks? Also, is there a place for pre-game hitting at or nearby? |
| July 15, 2015 Capt Kirk 541 posts | Since we had 60 plus team in 50+ age bracket (AAA) playing in Las Vegas World Championship in 2014, is it time to review the mix in the 50+ division: 50+ Major Plus- 15 teams, 50+ Major-31 teams, 50+ AAA- 62 teams, & 50+ AA- 8 teams. Note: Is there a AAA+ rating on the horizon for the 50's? |
| July 15, 2015 Dbax Men's 65 2101 posts | Sunset is nice. Outfields are beautiful. Lots of areas for BP. |
| July 24, 2015 deep14 102 posts | Well in 2014 the 50's AAA had to move from fielsd to field.Not so nice |
| July 24, 2015 K9er 9 posts | Yes, it does beg the question of returning to Phoenix. Sure, Las Vegas is a entertaining destination, but the Phx area and population is some three times that of Vegas and much more facilities. Not only have they done us well in the past, but think of the SSUSA team representations from AZ. Gotta be a state with of one of the most SSUSA teams. |
| July 25, 2015 boston Men's 60 355 posts | Arroyo grande gets my vote as best field. I do agree with K9er about Phoenix. Not the party/entertainment destination Vegas is but the fields are much betr as a whole. I don't remember Phoenix not leting us use fields due to league play. |
| July 25, 2015 shortstopchic10 Women's 40 61 posts | If you switch back to Phoenix for World's then what happens to Winter World's? Think Vegas is more of a draw for October and Phoenix weather is better than Vegas normally in November. I remember a miserable Winter World's in November 2010 in Vegas. I think that may have been a possible factor in flip flipping the tournaments |
| July 26, 2015 Capt Kirk 541 posts | We will be playing all our games at Shadow Rock, since the Las Vegas Economy is booming, why doesn't the city invest some money to upgrade the fields at Shadow Rock? Simple upgrades, level the fields, water the fields, drag the fields, we are not asking for a field of dreams complex, but fields that are worthy of the $700/entry fee. Thanks Capt Kirk Texas Rattlers |
| July 26, 2015 Capt Kirk 541 posts | Correction: We will be playing all our games at Shadow Rock, since the Clark County Economy is booming, why doesn't the county invest some money to upgrade the fields at Shadow Rock? Simple upgrades, level the fields, water the fields, drag the fields, we are not asking for a field of dreams complex, but fields that are worthy of the $700/entry fee. Thanks Capt Kirk Texas Rattlers Note: Clark County Overview With a population of more than 1.7 million, Clark County is home to the fastest growing city in the nation (Las Vegas). As the county continues to grow, opportunity and resources follow in step. Quality education beginning with the local school districts and enhanced by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas help produce and improve the workforce that supports growing industries in the area. From education to technology, growth is prevalent in the county and technological growth is supported by a new fiber-based telecommunications infrastructure. Strong transit and transportations assist the local and regional economies while providing easy access to the 11 Western states and nearly 53 million people. Additionally, Clark County offers an exciting quality of life with countless entertainment outlets, cultural activities, and recreation including golf and outdoor opportunities with nearby Lake Mead, Red Rock and Mt. Charleston just to name a few. |
| July 27, 2015 antieinstein Men's 70 53 posts | Las Vegas or Phoenix ? Not even close unless you like to stay in your room and do nothing after you play. |
