MIDVALE, Utah — After three years, close to 300 kids now play in the only softball league in the Southeast Valley, with their games almost always played at Union Park in Midvale.
But they’re now worried that the park’s softball fields may not be around much longer, and without fields, the league may not be around for long either.
"In our first season, we had 120 girls sign up from four years old all the way through high school, and it just has grown since then. It's now tripled in size. We're just under 300 girls and this is our third fall season,” said Jamie Walker, the president of Mt. Olympus Fastpitch Softball League.
League organizers said they're worried because they heard the county may start a construction project in the park.
"It's going to affect our girls, and we might be out of a league that's in high demand right now,” said Walker.
The county may build a recreation center if voters on Nov. 3 approve the $128 million Recreation General Obligation Bond, which would go towards repairing, renovating and building new additions to the county's parks, trails and outdoor spaces.
One of those projects is the $21 million Union Park Rec Center in Midvale, which plans show would be built right where two out of three softball fields are in the park.
"Most of us started playing at these fields, and so it's just a part of us," Jemma Corey, who plays on team "Baddies," said. "Every year we get new people on the team, so we just like get to make more new friends and like help each other."
The reason the league's called these fields home is that they said there aren't many softball fields on the east side of the county.
"There's no girls softball fields dedicated from the county north of Draper and east of I-15, except for these,” said Madelyn Corey, a coach for team "Baddies.”
When the league first started, they wanted to play at the Larry H. Miller softball complex in Millcreek, but they said they were told it was unavailable.
"We were told by the county that it's being used every Saturday, every weekend of the year, other than winter, and other than that there's no other complexes on the east side of Salt Lake,” said Walker.
The league's hoping to have a conversation with the county to see if there's any way to keep the fields and build the center.
"Hopefully, we'll be involved in that conversation once the government officials realize that, 'Oh yeah, we don't want to displace 300 kids that are actually doing some good and having fun and getting out and enjoying this park,'” said Walker.
FOX 13 News reached out to Salt Lake County and we have not yet received a response at the time of publication.