I was wondering?

[argh1]

I just got back from going to the next door neighbour's kid's provincial Midget "AAA" baseball game and there's a variety of sports fields massed in one spot.

The soccer fields had drills going with two length wise nets and four cross wise nets. The football fields were in full use as were the baseball/softball fields and the tennis courts. Is the massing of sports fields in one location a phenomenom of small towns like the one I live in (outside what we call a city) or is this now the common practice. Or have I been asleep for the last few years?

[Cheeta]

Bit of both out my way. See more of it as you get towards city limits. More elbow room out there I guess.

Lots of small single sport dedicated fields in the older neighbourhoods, though.

[Richard]

I think this kind of clustering is a fairly recent phenomenon so you're more likely to find it in the suburbs and newer developments. I expect it is somewhat cheaper to operate. My local such park has a lit fieldturf surface used for soccer and football, several fullsize and mini grass and one gravel soccer field, three baseball diamonds, a hockey/lacrosse box, multiple tennis courts and a kiddies waterpark. It is big enough to support a concession as part of a central changerome and clubhouse complex. All of this is looked after by a single grounds keeper who lives in a house on the property. This is surely cheaper to maintain and operate than a dozen seperate dedicated single use facilities spread around the city.

[redhat]

Community sports/rec centres are the trend. Parks & rec departments

seem to favour this type of concentration as costs get larger and budgets are more limited. Baseball on one side, soccer fields

on the opposite, tennis courts nearby ...

[aussoccerfan]

Beazley Field- Where the NS Clippers played now has the soccer/football stadium, a larger baseball field, and some baseball diamonds.