Tournaments booked at city, county parks, reservations up
May 18—Sporting fields that were silent in Owensboro and Daviess County will be alive with activity into the fall as tournaments fill up the event calendars at city and county parks.
At Jack C. Fisher Park, the sports calendar is so full of baseball tournaments that the only weekends left open are those city parks department officials decided to not book at all — the weekend near Independence Day and the weekend before schools resume in August.
"Our first event was at the end of February with the KWC (Kentucky Wesleyan College) tournament," Owensboro Parks and Recreation Department Director Amanda Rogers said. "The last event we have is the last week of October."
It's possible the tournament season could expand beyond that if there's demand, she said.
"We typically never had a November event, but we leaving those weekends open" for additional tournaments.
The pandemic hit parks in different ways, causing officials to cancel shelter rentals at city and county parks, and to call off sporting tournaments.
But Daviess County Parks Department Director Ross Leigh and Rogers said shelter reservations are hot this year.
"After people being closed up from COVID like they were, people are ready to get out around other people again" and park shelters are "a great, affordable location in the community.
"We've seen several graduation parties the last couple of weeks" at city park shelters, Rogers said. "We have some this weekend as well."
Leigh said reservations for shelters at county parks have been brisk.
"I wouldn't say we are booked up for the season, but the requests for reservations have increased over a year ago," Leigh said.
While some reservations have been canceled for other issues, "we haven't seen any reservations (canceled) due to COVID," he said.
Sports tournament spots at county parks are also quickly filling up, Leigh said.
"There are four weekends between now and the 31st of October where tournaments aren't booked," Leigh said. Last year, "there weren't any tournaments at Panther Creek at all."
Overall, park usage at county parks seems to have increased recently, he said.
"Yellow Creek Park was unbelievable Sunday," Leigh said. "I was stunned at the number of people there' at park shelters or just using the park... We have certainly seen an uptick."
Rogers said park usage increased in the city last year because outdoor activities were considered safer than being inside.
"During COVID, that was the one thing you could do — you could be out without a mask in the park, or play in the playground." she said.
This year, with indoor activities opening up, Rogers said she expects the number of people in the parks to decrease slightly compared to 2020, but to still be above pre-pandemic levels.
"I think we could see a general decrease in park usage, but not in a negative way," Rogers said. "I think it will decrease a little bit, but I think we will be up generally. "
James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse
James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com, Twitter: @JamesMayse
