Teams Scramble for Fields in Wake of District Lockout

It may have been a tight squeeze, but players, fans and umpires managed nonetheless.

Despite the closure of all athletic fields at Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, an American Legion District 20 game between Reseda-Cleveland and Studio City was played Wednesday at Cleveland High, a district school.

Those in attendance squeezed through a gate that was locked, but not sealed shut, according to Reseda-Cleveland Coach Howard Randall.

“We played on the field, nobody bothered us, and when the game ended, we cleaned it up,” Randall said.

The district ordered all athletic fields closed beginning with the first day of the new fiscal year Wednesday while a pay-for-play plan is ironed out. Youth sports teams, including 11 American Legion teams in the San Fernando Valley, have been affected by the closure and were sent scrambling for alternate sites.

“We realized that there was a possibility that somebody might come along and throw us off,” Randall said. “But we got the game in.”

Funding for youth services coordinators--who are charged with overseeing athletic facilities and the issuance of user permits at district campuses--was cut last week by the Board of Education. It was not a popular move.

“After the riots, they asked everybody to keep the kids off the street, then they pull a stunt like this,” said Randall, who termed the board members “professional administrative bureaucrats.”

Fields will remain closed until approximately Aug. 1 while a user-fee scale is finalized by the district.

Other District 20 teams were unable to find game sites.

Games that were postponed Wednesday included Granada Hills East vs. San Fernando at San Fernando High, Encino-Crespi vs. Valley South at Birmingham High and Sunland Tujunga vs. Sun Valley at Poly High. All the game sites were at district schools.

In the wake of the abrupt cuts by the school board, area Legion coaches were told by District 20 administrators to seek alternate sites.

Several did exactly that.

Wednesday’s game between Valley North and Granada Hills West--scheduled to be played at Chatsworth High, a district school--instead was played at Cal State Northridge. Valley North has been granted permission to play its four remaining home games at Matador Field for a nominal fee.

Granada Hills West, which normally plays at Granada Hills High, another district school, has been granted permission to play its five remaining home games at The Master’s College at no charge.