Many programs cannot yet begin in Park City due to the record winter snowfall.
Jess Moran is the recreation manager for Park City Recreation, which services the fields at Quinn’s Junction, City Park and all schools in the Park City School District except Dozier Field. She said grass fields at Quinn's Junction are about a month behind schedule. She said she doesn't expect them to open until May 20 at the earliest.
Logan Mossey, one of the recreation coordinators for Basin Recreation, said he expects some of their fields to open around May 20 as well. Basin Rec services fields at Willow Creek, Matt Knoop and Trailside Parks and Ecker Hill.
“I use Ecker Hill for baseball and we were actually supposed to start Monday of this week on a normal year. And the grass fields are going to be open, we're shooting for around May 20. So that is already a month out. And that's if the snow melts. As far as baseball fields, the dirt is going to be so wet that it might be even further," Mossey said.
Brandon Carrish, another Basin Rec coordinator, said baseball is not the only program affected. The youth tennis clinics had to move to the fieldhouse indoor pickleball courts and basketball gym and the intro to lacrosse clinic moved to the indoor turf field because it was only 15 degrees outside.
Another aspect of the snow dilemma both recreation departments may have to deal with is damage.
Both Moran and Basin Rec District Director Dana Jones said they won’t know the extent of the damage until all of the snow melts. Jones said she talked with her parks crew earlier in the week and they are already starting to see some damage around the edges of the fields at Trailside Park.
Another field getting back to normal is Dozier Field. Park City High School Athletic Director Jamie Sheetz said even though there are still big snow mounds in each end zone, the field has been cleared enough for spring sports to resume.
Basin Rec’s newest field complex, Trailside East, is not ready for programming. Jones said the fields still need a bit more work.
"So the snow fell early enough that the contractor didn't have a chance to finish those fields," Jones said. "There are still some of the infill that needs to be put on the fields, there's still some of the landscaping around them that needs to be done."
Once the fields are finished, Basin Rec will start scheduling programming for them.