By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
A local baseball coach voiced concerns about renting baseball fields from the city for $400 per practice during the Nov. 14 meeting of the Del Rio City Council.
Diego Almarez Jr., a coach for the Del Rio Express Organization (DREO), attended the council meeting to request options for a field for his players to practice on.
DREO is a non-profit organization in Del Rio. Almarez said he has been “very fortunate” to coach his players in the 14-year-old and under (14U) category, some of whom also attended the meeting, including Almarez’s son: Diego Almarez III.
“They’ve been through a lot of growing pains and some losses and wins; but more importantly, these boys have shown a lot of chemistry. And we made it pretty far in this fall tournament,” Almarez said.
The baseball team competed in three games from the Tournament of Champions in San Antonio recently. Almarez told the council the team has been struggling for the last year with finding practice fields.
The team has been using the Del Rio High School baseball field when it is available, and they practice at least twice a week. Almarez said they are requesting the use of a full-sized baseball field with 90-foot bases and an appropriately sized pitching mound.
Almarez spoke to the city’s parks and recreation department staff, and said the Field of Our Dreams Sports Park was considered an option, but noted that park costs $400 to rent per practice.
“We are more than willing to pay, but we want a reasonable amount. $400 per practice is an ungodly amount, and we multiply that twice per week, and it is $3,200 a month,” Almarez said.
Almarez concluded by asking the council to consider a “reasonable accommodation,” adding he and other team members would be able to lend a hand by fixing the bases and picking up their trash.
