Finding fields in San Francicso for any sport and recreational use is not an easy task.  Reserving is quite another, and requires commitment to get down to the Parks and Recreation Department to sign up for those fields.  

“Probably the greatest challenge we face year-after-year is obtaining consistent fields for practice and matches,” states Tom Simpson, General Manager of the Seals.  “Now the city is considering GIVING away six public golf courses in the city to a private nonprofit for just a DOLLAR.  Why not take even ONE of those and convert it to use for other sports.”

Chloe Good, Outreach Coordinator for the Neighborhood Parks Council is already on it.  They are supporting a petition to better distribute those fields to the community.  The Council is also preparing packets for each supervisor with materials that pertain to their position, including the petition with all signatures to date, the news article "Revenue Shortfalls are Costing Millions in Subsidies" from the San Jose Mercury News, and a statement highlighting the petition.  The packets will give them to the Supervisors at next Wednesday's meeting (April 25^th).

The San Francisco Seals urge you to consider the petition, and your support.

The following is an excerpt from that petition. 

“To:  Mayor Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors

We, the undersigned, are opposed to the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s current proposal to transfer the management of four out of six public golf courses in the city to a private nonprofit for just ONE DOLLAR per course, thereby removing more than 440 acres of valuable parkland from public control.

San Francisco currently has more public golf courses than other American cities of its size, yet is lacking sufficient numbers of playfields, soccer fields, lacrosse fields, basketball courts, disc golf courses, skate parks, nature trails, wildlife habitats, and other popular recreational facilities. We believe one or more public golf courses could be decommissioned and adapted to fill these recreational facility gaps.

We urge Mayor Newsom and the Board of Supervisors to delay any voting on this issue until after a professional study is completed to determine the costs and benefits of alternative uses for this parkland, so that the recreational needs of the diverse population of San Francisco may be better served. “