Navy Batting Zero in Battle Over Ball Fields

In 1969, the Navy began allowing some Little League teams to play baseball on unused federal land on the southern edge of Miramar Naval Air Station.

There weren’t enough city parks in nearby neighborhoods to meet the demand, and the good-will gesture by the Navy turned into a stunning success. This year more than 5,000 youths played softball, baseball, football and soccer on 44 acres of Navy land.

Today the Navy is finding that getting its land back isn’t nearly as easy as it was to offer it for public use.

Fifteen months ago, the Navy told the sports teams that “their license to use the land expired” and they would have to vacate the land by September, 1985.

But Dave Ward, president of the Hickman Youth Athletic Assn., which governs the six athletic organizations that use the land, says they aren’t going anywhere. One way or another, they intend to stay there indefinitely.

“I don’t ever envision us being put out of there,” Ward said. “When you’ve got 5,000 moms and dads, you’ve got a lot of support.”

The Navy’s explanation for kicking the youth teams off the land after all these years is that the Navy is “negotiating an exchange for the property” with the city.

In fact, city officials are preparing to negotiate with the Navy for the swap or possible purchase of the land north of Convoy Court, which was recently appraised at $7.5 million. Council members authorized those negotiations in April. But so far no negotiations have taken place, Councilman Ed Struiksma said.

Struiksma said that the Navy is eager to come to an agreement because “they don’t want to go through the confrontation of throwing the Little Leaguers off the field.”

When asked what the Navy will do about the sports association’s decision to remain on the land beyond the September deadline, Cmdr. C. Eugene Talmadge, deputy director of the San Diego Branch, Western Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, said, “It’s a tough problem and a tough situation, and I don’t have an answer right now. Their license expired.”

Talmadge suggested that the association “have the city come by and make us a deal.”

The Hickman association has gathered support from U.S. Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego) as well as prominent business and political leaders throughout San Diego.

Upset by the August, 1984, letter the Navy sent to the Hickman association ordering it to vacate the property no later than September, 1985, thousands of parents whose children use the fields began petition drives and phone calls to elected officials urging their help in saving the site.

Hickman officials subsequently received a letter from Adm. B.F. Montoya of the Western Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command stating, “We don’t contemplate selling or exchanging any land until 1987.” The letter went on to say that in the interim, “hold-over land users of the land can start planning their move in anticipation of this eventuality.”

Talmadge said that he was unaware of any such correspondence.

City Property Director James Spotts said that a city decision on what to do about the land should be made “within the next few months.”

In 1969, the Navy granted the Clairemont Mesa Little League 10 acres of the undeveloped land for a period of three years. Two years later, the Little League came up with the plans, labor and machinery needed to construct several baseball fields.

Since then, the Navy has licensed 34 additional acres, and there are three soccer, six baseball and three softball fields at the site. During this period, organizations under the Hickman association operated with the knowledge that their license to use the land was revocable at any time by the Navy.

Ward said many people have joined in helping to build and preserve the acreage, because the city and county provide insufficient athletic facilities for youngsters.