South Fort Myers Youth Baseball Club Begins Practice After Lee County Nearly Shuts Playgrounds

FORT MYERS, Florida. With the spring baseball season just around the corner and the fall baseball game due to Hurricane Ian, teams are looking forward to getting back on track.

After stadium lights fell on a field at Estero Park on Monday, Lee County closed access to all practice fields, leaving teams in the dark.

Howard Gold, president of the South Fort Myers Youth Baseball Club, was emotional about the delay in games. “These kids survived two years of COVID-19, then a hurricane, and now they could lose another season. We just felt like we had to do our best to get through the season.”

Gold came into action after Lee County closed athletic fields after the stadium-style lighting collapsed. He adds: “I just picked up the phone and made some calls because I honestly felt that this would be the death of youth sports in this area.”

Gold said that with teams still rebuilding, the season would not have been possible without the help of volunteers. They had to buy a scoring board, donate steel columns and concrete, and assemble most of it themselves to at least be functional.

A spokesman for the city told Fox 4’s Yvette Sanchez: “All locations with scheduled league play will be safe for play to resume on Saturday.” Howard Gold will make sure this upcoming season is a success. “You know… you win something, you lose something, but you play as a team.”

This is a great way to start the season; still standing and stronger together. Starting tomorrow, the major teams will be holding their practices and you can expect Fox 4 to be there.