Pittsburgh City Council looks to revamp permiting process for athletic facilities

Athletic associations in Pittsburgh may have an easier time getting field time if legislation before City Council is approved.

The legislation would revamp the prioritization process for permits at city athletic facilities.

“During covid, (athletic associations) helped keep 10,000 kids off the streets in the city of Pittsburgh when recreation centers were closed, when schools were closed,” said Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, who sponsored the legislation.

Now, she said, some associations are struggling to simply get access to the fields they’ve used for years because of high demand.

“We have too much demand — more demand than we can satisfy — at our facilities,” Councilwoman Deb Gross said.

It’s a problem that’s been “a major source of difficulty” for Pittsburgh Dynamo Youth Soccer, an all-volunteer nonprofit that serves about 900 kids, said Dan Russell, the organization’s president.

The organization’s 79 teams use the facilities at Schenley Park, according to Russell. But the teams aren’t getting permits to use the space nearly as much as they did a couple of years ago. Russell said the organization started losing some time slots on Sundays to a flag football group last fall, and then they lost some additional evening and weeknight slots.

“We were sort of blindsided,” he said.

In the spring, Dynamo Youth Soccer had to rent a field from Chatham University, costing it $12,000.

What’s particularly frustrating, Russell said, is that Dynamo Youth Soccer had helped pay for some of the upkeep at the Schenley field. A message from the organization to families participating in the program said the organization has paid $50,000 for lights on the turf field, plus $105,000 to help rejuvenate the grass fields there.

“This fall, we’ve had to cram kids into smaller and smaller spaces,” Russell said, explaining that teams are practicing and playing when and where they can.

Under the council legislation, athletic organizations comprised of city residents who are looking to use facilities for sports programs, tournaments or events would get top priority when it comes to permits.

After that, priority would be given to individual residents who live in the neighborhood where the field or court is located. Then, priority would go to city employees who live in the city.

The last priority would be for athletic organizations that are not comprised fully of Pittsburgh residents.

Councilman Bobby Wilson, who said he is seeing scheduling conflicts at Riverview Park’s soccer field, said the algorithm the city currently has in place to prioritize permits should be revisited. For example, he said the current system prioritizes private schools over community leagues.

Wilson said he feels the system should prioritize groups “that are serving the greater part of the community.”

City officials are “trying to craft a policy so that it works for everyone,” Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein said.

“The basic fact of the matter is that we have more people that want to use our athletic facilities than we have athletic facilities to use,” he said. “Unfortunately, that creates conflict.”

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Russell said he’s not sure how useful the legislation will be for Dynamo Youth Soccer, because the organization isn’t getting bumped by organizations from outside the city as much as by other Pittsburgh youth athletic associations.

“There’s a problem in that there are more city resident kids wanting sports facilities than the city has available for the kids,” he said.

He said he suspects youth athletic programs have grown since the pandemic, as many parents were eager to give their children something to do outdoors.

“There was just really a rush of people wanting to play youth sports,” he said.

It’s imperative that organizations like Dynamo Youth Soccer have the space they need to get children on the field, said Rebecca Elhassid, whose 9- and 11-year-olds play soccer in the organization.

“It is the one affordable, accessible recreational opportunity that city kids have, and it should be prioritized,” she said.

The city’s website lists over 100 athletic facilities that athletic associations can get permits to use.

Athletic associations in the city serve about 10,000 Pittsburgh children, according to Kail-Smith.

Permits for youth leagues are free, though the city charges $23 per hour for adults to use the facilities.

Kail-Smith said the city wants to ensure that adults are also able to access athletic facilities. She suggested conducting an independent facility strictly for adult athletic leagues to use.

Councilwoman Erika Strassburger suggested exploring potential partnerships with Pittsburgh Public Schools, private schools in the city and local universities who may be able to allow local athletic organizations to use their fields.