Rising cost of Twin Cities ballfield rentals puts financial pressure on youth leagues

In the decade since Tom Stevens got involved with his local youth baseball association, the Mendota Heights parent has watched the price of renting fields from nearby cities steadily rise.

The softball and baseball diamond rentals that were free a decade ago now cost $50 per player for the season — a sizable chunk of the Two Rivers Athletic Association’s entire budget.

It has “an enormous impact on our program,” said Stevens, the association’s softball commissioner, adding that “there are definitely people making decisions to no longer play.”

Long embraced as a more affordable alternative to club sports, youth athletic associations are contending with creeping costs for something essential: a space to play. That’s frustrating some parents who worry the trend could prompt a small-time exodus from local sports leagues, though city officials say the elevated fees are needed for the fields’ upkeep.

Baseball and softball diamonds require “significant maintenance and preparation,” said Eric Weiss, West St. Paul’s parks and recreation director.

“Maintaining a balance between expenses and revenue is crucial to maintaining great ballfields,” he said.

Brian Monahan of the Metro Baseball League, a nonprofit that promotes youth baseball across the Twin Cities metro, southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, said member communities are increasingly reporting rising costs for field rentals.

“It’s definitely a concern of ours, because we want to help our programs be affordable,” he said. “We know there are a lot of families that can’t play at the club price.”

The price youth athletic associations pay to rent fields for games varies across the Twin Cities metro, and not every city is raising prices.

Chris Clark, board president of Burnsville Traveling Baseball, said playing space hasn’t become pricier in recent years, attributing the stability to the club’s strong relationship with Burnsville city officials.

“They say, ‘Our goal isn’t to make money,’” Clark said. “‘Our goal is to make sure that we have the appropriate places for kids to play.’”

Two Rivers Athletic Association rents fields from several cities and the local school district to serve athletes in West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, Mendota and north Eagan.

It costs the association less to rent fields in Mendota Heights — $7 per player for the entire season — than West St. Paul.

Weiss of West St. Paul said in an email that the city has historically offered youth associations relatively low rates for renting fields. Until 2014, leagues paid $7 per player to use fields for the entire season.

But that arrangement presented some issues for the city, Weiss said.

For one, officials charged all associations identical rates, no matter how many games they play. And costs remained the same for residents and nonresidents to use fields and equipment that require constant upkeep.

“West St. Paul taxpayers were subsidizing nonresidents to play in West St. Paul,” Weiss said.

The city in 2024 began charging leagues $10 an hour for games, an arrangement that Weiss said helps West St. Paul fund mowing, chalking and dragging of fields, prevents booked fields from going unused, and reduces staffing costs.

That means five three-hour games at the city’s “premier” fields would cost a league $150.

It might not seem like an exorbitant amount when split up among a team. But parents say field rental costs can quickly add up when hosting tournaments.

A recent tournament at Harmon Park in West St. Paul led to a $1,700 bill for the Two Rivers Athletic Association, the host, for renting four fields over three days, Weiss said.

Stevens noted that fees from other participating teams will generate fundraising revenue for the athletic association. But, he added, the price hikes are “so high that it’s almost preventing it from even being a fundraiser.”

Weiss said the city needs a way to defray the annual $50,000 bill it incurs for maintaining baseball fields, the upkeep and staffing of which can detract from other priorities — from repairing playgrounds to cleaning up garbage.

The city, he added, has prioritized reducing costs for activities that benefit all of West St. Paul, like park concerts, while charging individuals for events intended for a narrower group, like a picnic shelter rental for a birthday party.

“Private athletic associations fall somewhere in the middle,” Weiss said, adding the city plans to revisit field fees later this summer and potentially implement the 2024 rate increases over a few years so athletic associations can adjust.

As Stevens sees it, tournaments that draw people to West St. Paul benefit the local community, generating funds that cut costs for families hoping to enroll their kids in the local athletic association and paying for additional field rentals. His primary concern, though, is existential: What if rising costs prevent youth leagues from affording field rentals at all?

“Eventually, you reach that breaking point where the association ceases to exist, and the only option for kids are these club opportunities,” he said. “That’s where it really starts to become a barrier to entry for kids that may not have as high of an income.”