Outrageous prices at Lakepoint fields for PG tourn

I could not care less what is charged to spectators by a private company. Let the market determine what they can charge. I hope they make a healthy profit and grow.

 

My original post addressed LP communicating their policies so that their customers would know what to expect before they got there.

 

Thanks Buckeye and thank you!

Fair enough....keep in mind though that the winter/spring in the area was not their normal weather.  It was awful....and they got behind with everything...and were lucky to get the 4 fields ready to go for this summer.  Communicating about how much water was going to cost was probably quite a bit further down their priority list than getting the fields, parking, etc finished up.  They had a problem...they have taken care of it....let's all go down to GA...have some fun and watch some good baseball.

You guys crack me up. You're dropping a couple thousand dollars a year (or more?) for your kid to play baseball. And you're throwing a fit about the cost of a bag of chips or a bottle of water? Do I think they're inflated prices? YES. But I've got a solution to the problem for you... don't pay THOUSANDS of dollars to travel all over the country. Stay local and play baseball; then you can afford that bag of chips...

Right on. Looking forward to seeing what they've built.

My intent w post was to let others know they were charging players for water. Apparently they changed their mind and have backed off w other options. 

To answer a few replies with my opinion, because that is what this site is for.

yes, I want to see how profitable this venture will be in a few yrs. free market, so I'm curious. Yes, I 'm interested in Disneys  business too, but I own stock in that company.  I've complained as Im sure many others have about a $9.00  nothing special hamburger At Disney. We buy cheaper snacks, and eat most food off site.

To anyone who thinks post is getting out of hand-fine your opinion, don't waste your time rdg, and commenting if it bothers u so much. . you may not be buying food at games, but many people do, esp drinks in 90 degree weather. again the intent of post was to inform about players. 

For the rude comment about stay home don't play travel ball, I say that's what some people r forced to do. Maybe  numbers are down in kids playing this sport  r  partially due to how expensive it has become w instructors, travel, equipment, etc. a lot of money to invest and kids don't get full paid scholarships like football/basketball.

hope everyone who plays at Lakepoint has a good experience. Sure the boys will think it's cool. 

 

Maybe it was the way you worded your topic. I dont find $2 for a bottle of water outrageous.
How many games will you attend at the complex.  One?  
Why not eat before you get to the park?  That might eliminate some expense.
JMO

First, my daughter played four games today is incredible heat and humidity here in the St. Louis area.  We had to pay for water.  So, the wife and I made sure that BB had water then bucked up and bought a case from the people putting the tournament on along with getting their permission for a cooler with their water in it to be placed into the dugout.  Not the first time and certainly not the last time we have done this.  Where she played is owned by a business in the business of making money.  So, that is the way it is.  As consumers, we made that choice. 

 

Lakepoint, or any other baseball related business doesn't have any responsibility to participate on a message board.  I don't see what they have to gain other than to try to defend themselves from attacks and we all know that that can do as much harm as good. 

 

PGStaff made his position clear in his first response, and to be honest, I thought that was more than sufficient.  PGStaff is not only a valuable member of this site and a sponsor but also, he has always been a valuable resource in discussions far from his business interest.  In other words, just talking baseball. 

 

Finally, this site has always been about good discussion on a variety of baseball related topics.  It is a mix of personalities who have so many viewpoints and experiences.  That makes it interesting.  There is sometimes a fine line between someone making a point and turning that into an agenda to attack.  For the OP, I hope that the issues have been addressed and so, we can move on. 

Playball,

 

You're not the only one interested in how profitable everything is. I'm kind of interested as well. Wonder what happens if it isn't profitable.

 

It does seem you are looking for negativity. The mounds are the same used at many big college stadiums. So far we haven't heard many complaints about the mounds. Yes, we have had lightning delays already.  Safety is important!  But despite large amounts of rain we haven't missed a game yet. It quits raining and the field is ready to go. One thing that I noticed... No dirt or dust flying around, there just isn't any.  The place is very clean for a multi-field park. The lights are amazing to everyone that has seen them. The seating is chair back with shading, but we will need more in the future.  The parking lot is great, but we will need more parking before long. There are even digital scoreboards. And a great big scout tower. TrackMan permanently installed on every field. Restrooms are nice and kept clean, but I wish they were larger.

 

So there are actually a few good things about the place. I didn't get anything from the concessions. I do know we discussed pricing with them and they actually lowered prices. There must be thousands of places to eat within short driving distance. I know when we use Jupiter in October I paid $5 for a lemonade and $5 for a hamburger. I didn't have to, but I did.

 

Anyway, I've been told the water issue has been taken care of. I hope that is true. For every problem people bring up, we have found many more things that could be improved.

Many places with these types of facilities do not allow sunflower seeds or metal cleats. Both of those can easily become warranty issues. Besides, I can only imagine what kind of mess would be created by a large baseball tournament in a weekend where they were spitting seeds onto a surface like turf. This is probably also a factor in the decision to ban seeds.

 

I actually quit eating sunflower seeds during football for this reason. Our home field has turf and seeds aren't allowed. So I just don't get into that habit on the road either. I'm probably better off that way. I know during baseball/softball season I go through nearly a bag a day! 

My son and his team play at Lake Pointe tonight.  I can't wait to see the facilities.  He has been playing on a turf field for his high school, so he has a little bit of experience.  The only real difference will be the mound.  His school has a dirt mound.  And, they use metal cleats.  I wonder if these mounds/turf shoes will effect pitching speed?  My son (if he pitches tonight) wants to try and break 90.  He managed to hit 90 on a dirt mound in his first PG game on Friday,so now he wants to break it :-)

 

I do like that these games will not get rained out.  We did not play yesterday because our field at a local high school was rained out.  Not complaining.  I was there and saw the amount of rain.  Nothing could be done.  

 

As for cost;  Now that the players have water, I am fine with the rest.  

 

 

There's nothing like a good storm brewing up and hovering over our great state during the summer! But it always seems the BEST ones come right at WWBA baseball tournaments and it has been that way for YEARS when my son played at them. lol. And I can't tell you the number of cancelled games we had to endure. So I think it's really neat to have these artificial turf fields to squeegee off and keep playing ball within a matter of minutes! Now we can laugh back at Mother nature and keep playing ball! And teams as far as Seattle don't leave Georgia feeling they got robbed of only play 2 games out of 6 because of weather!

 

I go by the venue twice a week to see a customer of mine 1 mile away. I just wonder what those lakes with these "lines" and what appears to be surfboards(?) are? Hard to see and make sense of what it is from a car driving by! lol. But it looks fun whatever it is!

 

I bet that McDonald's right off the exit is going to LOVE this venue, and the Subway inside the store!

 

YGD

My son played there last night.  That turf is slippery in tennis shoes :-(  I watched one kid in the game next to ours have a great hit, round second, realize he could not get to third and when he went to go back to second: Both feet came out from under him. 

 

My son also commented that when he was pitching, his landing foot would slide.  

 

Same for both teams, so I guess they just get used to it.

 

 

 

Can't they wear turf shoes?  I would think that tennis shoes would be slippery.  I can't speak for everyone else but we have always had to buy turf and cleats for my daughter.  So, we buy them at about the same time.  Yesterday, my daughter said that she needs new cleats and so, thank goodness she said her turfs are fine. 

So what does it mean that the water situation has been 'taken care of'?  I got the email friday asking $50 for 25 bottles of water for a team cooler.  Seems to me they are still charging $2 a bottle of water for the players.  I get it that Coca Cola is a sponsor, so they only sell Coke products and don't want outside products, but whatever the venue, a player's nutrition is part of their own personal equipment.  Players should be able to bring in coolers of gatorade if that's what they drink.  Nike sponsors events too, that means only Nike is available at the venue, but players can wear other brands of shoes.  I don't mind conceding the gatorade, as gatorade and powerade are so similar, there's no reason to quibble between them.  But there are other drinks which are fundamentally different, say coconut milk, that underscore why I think players should be able to bring their own. I have no problem with spectators being at the mercy of the concession stands.

 

Regardless of what I think players should be able to do, let me clarify my specific question, is water available in the dugout for the players?  I always appreciate PG Staff's comments here, I'm just confused by the phrase 'taken care of' while I'm still being solicited to buy a case of water.

I think the best option on turf fields are the rubber cleats.  The rubber used in the field makes it slippery.  Some turf shoes can slip, especially with low nubs.   The rubber cleats are deep enough to get a grip.  Gym shoes don't really work. That's my experience.  

 

We played there last night:  They brought water and cups to the dug out.  I am not a coach, so I don't know what it took to get it. But I did see it brought in.  Also, I do hold the team check book and no one asked for money :-)

 

Thanks Golfman,  Since we have already signed up to play at Lake Point again in the fall, I will be getting rubber cleats for my son.  

 

From an earlier post in this thread.

 

 

Not looking to be negative on purpose, just pointing out an issue that needed to be resolved-free water for players. My son will be bringing his own drinks in his bag.

i stand by my objection to turf mounds-they get slippery after any rain, just had that problem for our pitchers at tourn this weekend. It can mess w pitchers velocity in a time when they need to be at their best in front of college coaches. 

Looking forward to playing a game at Lakepoint, hope it's a night game so we can check out the lights everyone is talking about. 

Tennis shoes don't provide any traction. I would also think if a college coach saw a kid wearing tennis shoes there would be an impression the player didn't come prepared. You need "molds" (molded plastic cleats) to play on turf. The only issue with playing on wet turf is sliding. The runner has to slide sooner or he'll blow by the base like a runaway train. It's also probably a good idea to wear gloves on the bases. Sliding head first, a runner can burn his hands skimming the ground. 

It has been our experience that the turf mounds dry out extremely fast.  Water does not sit on the mound.  We don't play until the mounds are ready.

 

We have watched the pitching carefully.  Pitchers that we have recorded before have not seemed to lose any velocity and in many cases have actually gained velocity.  Of course, that would be natural if we hadn't recorded them for awhile.

 

We have already had some very dominant pitching performances, including a perfect game in the first week.

 

The turf company recommends molded cleats. 

 

To my knowledge the water issue has been taken care of.  Water is available for free and water is also sold if a team or individual wants to buy it.  I would think a player could bring what he wants in his bag.  Just can't bring in a cooler at this time.  Rules might change as we move forward.

 

I am kind of surprised that someone that has been there didn't mention anything good about the place.  That is OK, but we are getting rave notices about the complex from almost everyone that has been there.

 

I used to hate the lightning detectors, but understand the importance of safety.  Rain might delay a game, but no more fields rained out for the whole day unless it rains all day.

 

Please understand that we do not control the concessions.  However, we have played in many places and the prices seem about the same.  If comparing to the local high school field run by the booster club they might seem high.

 

We will do the best we can.  The place is amazing! I suggest visiting around 9:00 at night, if possible, even if not playing there.  You will see what I mean!

 

I do prefer suggestions over complaints.  I guess most people do.

 

Yes.  I agree you need molded cleats   However, when you find out on Friday that metal cleats will not be allowed on Sunday and your kid wears a size 14 cleat, you simply do not have a choice.  He played the entire HS season on a turf field with metal cleats.  He understands how to play on turf.   We were simply surprised to find out that metal would not be allowed.    

PG Staff,

 

I do think the facility is great.  I can't wait until there are more fields there so get more games there.  My son has already signed up for your showcase their on August.  

We got to play under the lights last night.  You can't even tell you are under lights except that it never gets dark.  Also, for me personally, i enjoyed not having to bring my own chair.  Those seats are nice.  

 

I also understand there are going to be growing pains.  I mentioned the cleats because I am sure others were caught by surprise.  In the end, if you asked my son if he wanted to play there again, he would say yes.  So that is all that really matters to me.

 

 

Prediction: Pitchers and their parents who don't perform up to expected standards will blame the turf mound. 

We do not have the capability of contacting every player.  Coaches or team contact is all we can contact.

 

If players/teams check the website it has been posted at the top of the home page and other locations. Home Plate is the other turf field in Atlanta.

Only one of our 7 games is there.  So it doesn't seem like a big deal.  I assume once they have all fields operational they won't need to use   quite  as many external sites.  But seems like they are using way more than 16 fields total, so there will always be external sites used I imagine. 

Thanks, Dadofa17.

 

RJM, we knew that from the get-go! I bet that kid that threw a perfect game loved the mound.

Honestly, if I saw pitchers slipping on their landing foot (I'm not saying this happens there) as a normal course, I would not let my kid pitch there. 

 

There can be legitimate complaints about this.

I've never seen a kid have problems pitching on a quality turf mound that wasn't all in his head. We're not talking about crappy, portable mounds here.

And that is the key.  They are "real" turf mounds.  The same as the playing surface.  IU has one at their new facility.  Seems to work ok.   

Well, I can't see inside a kid's head. I can only see his foot slipping.

RJM why so negative?  Just because you have personally never witnessed a pitcher have problem on wet turf mound doesn't mean it doesn't happen.  Why do you care about parents of pitchers and what they may think? To make flippant comment about kids issues being all in their head are not necessary.  

Mr. PGA staff-not sure what your position with them actually is but why are you agreeing. with RJM negative comments. You called me out for what U thought was negativity?  Glad kid  pitched perfect game-exciting, but doesn't mean that other pitchers will not have a Possible negative exp on same mound. 

You seem to have a problem with any negative comment about anything PG is assoc. with. You yourself have said PG just leases fields and are not in charge of concession decisions. Why take it so personally. Nothing was being blamed on PG. 

Issues that needed to be addressed as a problem or potential problem were being brought to the attention of many who were not aware since it's a new facility. 

Hopefully kinks will get worked out and most will have good experiences there.  No place  is perfect, things will happen. 

Thanks to all who have given person insight about what they have seen there and helped with suggestions, for ex what type of shoes to wear. That's what I come in here for the up to date sharing of helpful info. 

I have heard parents blame it on the rain as well.

 

For anyone's information, PGstaff is Mr Jerry Ford, owner and founder or PG.

 

I think that he has handled the complaints here very well, and most likely changes were made because he saw the concerns of folks here. He didn't have to do that, he doesn't have to support this site either. 

But he said something I am not sure anyone really paid attention to, the responsibility of finding out info is up to the coach of the team and the parents. If a parent feels they were uninformed then they should speak to the team coach and manager they paid their fee to. And in this day of the internet and how many it reaches, check out the sites before you come.

 

BTW, in case anyone is interested, the two years that  we went to Jupiter it rained, as it always does, and for a few games we had lots of mud to contend with out in the red fields.  One year we got there our game was postponed and had to come back late in the afternoon for a game and played in a light rain to get games in, it was a mess.  it also did the same when son went to Atlanta for the PG tourney.  I wasn't there but I know it rained as it does every year.

 

We never complained.

 

Our boys would have loved to have played on the turf and under the lights that is now at LP.  Made sure that you know what is expected, in this day and age, EVERYTHING can be found online.  THIS site is not for that purpose.

Concession prices are high everywhere in every venue...at least in Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. If the venues don't make money, they will shut down. Most people would much prefer to buy water and have a nice clean facility with bathrooms than to play at HS fields with porta potties. 

 

Rules about coolers, footwear, seeds, gum etc are usually posted on the venue or tournament websites. There is no reason not to know the rules before you get there. Your coaches receive the rules beforehand in any event.

 

ETA TPM, I didn't see your last post until after I posted. GMTA  

If a mound is slippery it I should not be played on.  This goes for any mound, dirt or turf!  In most every case the umpire will see this and stop the game.  

 

Regarding RJM and agreeing with him. I simply said we knew that from the get-go.  It was something we talked over before deciding to go with turf mounds.

 

If I seem confrontational, I apologize.  Just trying to reply to what has been said.  It all started with a question about the water.  I was actually glad to hear that complaint because it was something we had been dealing with and needed to correct.

 

When we discuss the mounds, it is more difficult.  It cost a small fortune to put them in and would take weeks to change them now.  In other words, we can't change them at this time without canceling some very big tournaments that are scheduled.  The mounds in the bullpens are also turfed.  Just in the last week we have redone the turf on the mounds.  We wanted a bit more give and they seem to play even better.

 

We have had several players tell us these are the nicest fields they have ever played on.  We have had several people complain about the water situation.  We had a few suggest improving certain things including the mounds.  

 

Why are you saying I have a problem with anything said negative.  This started with water and I was in full agreement that something had to be done.  You seem to be looking for something that just isn't there. Please go back and read everything I wrote.  Every word is the truth as I know it.  I just see a big difference between suggestions and complaints.  It's hard to be positive when dealing with those that are negative. 

 

Anyway, I hope those that experience the PG Complex at LakePoint truly enjoy it.  And always interested in hearing suggestions on how to make it better yet. I'm not interested in getting into any arguments.

 It is somewhat embarrassing IMO when PG Staff has to field complaints. To my knowledge, HSBBW isn't in competition with say, Yelp. There is no need to be posting negative reviews about anyone's business. 

I think the points that people wanted to make have been made and PG responded.

 

I am closing the thread.  I hope nobody starts a new thread complaining about closing it.

 

Thanks in advance.