Stadium hosts youth games despite state’s prohibition
High school-aged club baseball teams, most of them from Southern California, participated in recent days in the West Coast Winter Classic at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino — the same stadium that is home to the Los Angeles Angels’ minor league affiliate, the Inland Empire 66ers.
The California Department of Public Health has prohibited high school and youth sports teams from playing games in the state since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Teams are allowed to do conditioning and limited skill workouts, but games are still prohibited.
The CDPH’s most recent guidelines, published in December, state the following: Inter-team competitions (i.e., between two teams) will not be allowed in California until January 25, 2021, at the earliest, based on the guidelines outlined in this document.
Major youth sports organizations like Little League Baseball and the American Youth Soccer Organization have adhered to these polices in California and have not played.
But many club teams and leagues for soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and most recently club football have played in games and tournaments in defiance of the state restrictions for youth sports.
Future Events Group, a corporate event management company, secured San Manuel Stadium to host the club baseball showcase that ran for four straight days, ending on Monday. Future Events Group hosted a similar tournament in December at San Manuel Stadium, and there is another tournament planned for February, also at San Manuel Stadium.
“We’ve always been one to push the envelope to get these kids back on the field,” said Karin Shue, one of the managing partners for Future Events Group. “A lot of this discussion started in the summer when everyone was dormant and hunting for fields. We pulled a rabbit out of the hat and were granted permission to play here (San Manuel Stadium).”
In recent months, club teams of all sports have traveled to states where youth teams are allowed to participate in tournaments, but club teams also have scheduled games and tournaments in Southern California,
with many finding that the state restrictions are not being enforced, allowing games and tournaments to go on without interference.
The Future Events Group makes each player sign a waiver to participate and asks that teams adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines in their contract, which in part reads:
“In addition to strict adherence to State and Local orders regarding COVID-19, Future Events Group, Inc. (“FEG”) and/or Best of the West will monitor evolving CDC guidelines. The precautions below are created specifically for the individuals participating in any events hosted by Future Events Group and the Best of the West Baseball League.”
Future Events’ COVID guidelines include “recommending” that participants wear face coverings when participants are not in play and/or on the bench and especially when six-foot distancing is difficult to maintain.
The COVID guidelines listed on the Future Events site include a long list of precautions to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, but there is no getting around that playing youth sports in California is still prohibited by the CDPH, regardless of the precautions being taken.
But who is stopping them?
San Bernardino County spokesperson David Wert said he is aware of the games at San Manuel Stadium and the county has received recent complaints.
“The County has received three complaints during the past week about games at the stadium,” Wert said in response to an email. “The County has sent a letter to the stadium advising them of the State’s health order and plans to follow up by posting the violation notice at the entrance to the facility. The County will monitor the situation before contemplating any next steps.”
Wert recently told the Los Angeles Times, however, that the county is limited in what it can do. The county can’t, he said, arrest or cite individuals for playing games at the facility.
“It’s not a matter of being a criminal offense,” Wert told the Times. “It’s a matter of not following a health order.”
In a story published in the San Bernardino Sun in December on possible penalties for businesses that did not comply with the state’s public health orders to fight the spread of the coronavirus, Riverside County Department of Environmental Health spokesperson Brooke Federico explained that the county is focused on education over penalties.
At the time, that approach was directed mainly at restaurants and other businesses that violated state health orders. But it also seems to be applying to youth sports teams that are violating the health orders.
“The County has focused its efforts on educating business owners about the State’s Public Health Orders,” Federico told the newspaper. “Educational outreach aimed at achieving voluntary compliance remains the County’s focus to better prepare businesses as we transition within the Regional Stay-at-Home Order and the State’s tier system.”
Inland Empire 66ers general manager Joe Hudson explained that any tournament organizer who signs a contract to use the San Manuel Stadium is expected to adhere to state and local county mandates and guidelines.
“We make the field available for organizers to rent, and it’s their responsibility to navigate the state and county regulations,” Hudson said. “We feel it is up to the organizer to ensure those regulations are being enforced.”
Not only are there videos of games on social media showing club teams playing baseball games in defiance of state restrictions, but some of the clubs participating are posting their scores and highlights on social media as well.
There is no effort to hide it. On the Future Events Group website, there are team rosters that include the high school and graduating year for each player.
Well-known club teams like the Southern California Dukes are participating. The Dukes have players on their roster from San Dimas, Gabrielino, Temple City, Pasadena Poly, Pasadena and South Pasadena high schools. There are three sophomores, six juniors and the rest of the roster is made up of seniors.
Sid Stark, the general manager for the Southern California Dukes, who are based in Tujunga and rent fields at the Glendale Sports Complex for their training, said he understands that state mandates prohibit youth sports games at this time, but there is still a strong desire to play.
“We’ve played out of state and we try to follow the protocols that are in place wherever we go,” Stark said. “But not playing or prohibiting people from playing sports is not something you can stop, to be honest. The whole situation is kind of conflicting with me. But I’m trying to help kids and their families get to the next level, improve and do what they love. I understand there is a real problem with COVID and we do everything we can to limit the risks when we get together.”
Stark said he has not had a COVID-19 outbreak on his team.
“None of my players have tested positive, but all of us know the risks involved,” Stark said. “Again, yes, I’m kind of conflicted with it. I’m 65 years old, it’s more of a risk to me than the players. But I’m as careful as I can be and so are our players, that’s kind of how I see it.”
Other teams that participated in the tournament at San Manuel included the California Armada, which has several players from San Gabriel Valley high schools, including South Hills, Bishop Amat, Damien, Charter Oak and Bonita.
The Orange County Ducks club team has four players from Villa Park, five from Foothill and two from Orange Lutheran high schools along with many others from Orange County schools. The Ducks roster includes players from sophomore to seniors.
Some club teams that participated in the recent tournament had rosters made up entirely of players from one high school. The Legends Baseball team was filled with players from Maranatha High in Pasadena. The Inland Empire Pirates were made up entirely of players from Claremont High.
As Shue explained, everyone involved knows that youth sports games are prohibited, but the risks outweigh the rewards, and the Future Events Group was a willing participant.
“We’re a corporate event management company and we decided this summer we were going to do this,” Shue explained. “We understand what the state regulations are. We understand what the risks are. But the kids want to play and we found a stadium for them to play in and we make it as safe as we can.”
Does she worry that state health officials could shut it down?
“We worry about that all the time,” Shue said.