‘These kids are now suffering’: Jake calls out Seattle Parks for neglected Little League fields

The Vice President of Northeast Seattle Little League, Ted Foster, recently spoke out about the lucrative permit fees the league has to pay, which make up more than 60% of its operating budget, and have only resulted in fields that are now in “absolute complete disrepair.”

Jake Skorheim and Spike O’Neill, co-hosts of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, condemned the city’s practice of consistently raising permit fees year after year while failing to provide children with a safe place to compete in organized athletics.

“The people who are showing up to play on the weekend, they go around, and parents are having to come and bring wheelbarrows and shovels to try and fix these problems,” Jake said. “These are not leagues that are making a ton of money. These are just people volunteering their time, and it’s all going into facilitating the beautiful, wonderful thing that is literally youth sports. This, to me, seems wrong.”

Seattle Parks’ steep permit fees result in poor field conditions

In an exclusive interview on Seattle Red 770 AM, Foster revealed that more than $120,000 in permit costs will be paid to the city by the district for “the worst field conditions out of every district that there is.”

Additionally, Jake noted that the Seattle Parks’ annual operating budget is $228 million, yet the kids continue to suffer from poor field conditions every week.

“Their operating budget is $228 million, and they can’t fill a dog hole,” Jake said. “That’s a real problem, because these kids are now suffering as a result, and they’re not going to want to play at these parks.”

Spike claimed that rising costs to rent a field, whether it is usable or not, will eventually divert funds from important equipment that children need to play each game.

“When 60% of a little league or association’s operating budget goes to rent a field that is unusable, that’s money coming out of uniforms, ball game equipment, all the little things, trophies,” Spike said. “What does the city want us to do, sponsorships? You want us to get Chico’s Bail Bonds out there? That would be great.”

“They won’t allow it. You can’t put advertising stuff out there,” Jake responded. “The parents even volunteered. They said, ‘Can we raise money to help the situation?’ and they said, ‘That’s not going to work for us.’ I don’t know if they want kids. Honestly, I don’t know if Seattle Parks wants kids on their field. I think they would rather have dogs.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.