Recreational leagues compete — for field time

For South Florida’s recreational sports leagues, the real competition isn’t on the field — it’s for the field.

Cities are scrambling to fill a need as their populations surge.

In Cooper City, where the last sports complex was built in the mid-’90s, games are often backlogged and practice time has sharply dwindled. After years of debating the cost and necessity, commissioners have approved a new $9.7 million sports complex at Flamingo Park.

It will be ready by next fall and include four artificial turf fields that can withstand usage, heavy rain and don’t need to be re-sodded.

“These days you play a sport, halfway or two-thirds into the season, you’re playing on dirt or mud or rocks,” said Scott Reid, a member of the Cooper City Optimists Club, which schedules 2,200 games a year.

In Delray Beach, the end of baseball season and the beginning of football season has young athletes sharing Pompey Park. The field is designed for baseball but the football league has an agreement with the city to hold its practices there, too. And the nearby Carver Middle School also practices there, squeezing field time to a minimum.

“You never really have enough room for what you want to do,” said Terence Thomas, president of the city’s football league and vice president of its Little League baseand