Saint Paul does not have a single dedicated girls' fast-pitch softball field, and Highland Ball wants to fix that with $300,000 of its own money at the West Seventh Community Center. The youth sports organization's proposal, discussed at an August 11 community meeting, would carve two fenced fields with backstops, player benches, fan bleachers and batting cages out of the West End of the community center's playground, near Saint Clair Avenue and the I-35E parkway.
About 30 Saint Paul residents turned out alongside Saint Paul Parks and Recreation officials to hear the pitch, according to myvillager.com. Highland Ball is now the largest youth baseball and softball program in Saint Paul, and its softball leagues have drawn between 252 and 360 players over the past five years. The organization traces its roots back to the founding of the Highland Little League in 1953, and it currently offers in-house recreational softball for girls in grades K-6, traveling teams for girls up to age 14, and full scholarships so no player is turned away for financial reasons.
Justin Uran, speaking for Highland Ball, said the new fields would give every player an opportunity to play. Right now, girls' teams compete for limited space on baseball or slow-pitch softball fields, and Highland Ball currently uses the two West Seventh Community Center fields for two games each on Monday and Thursday evenings between April and July. The organization would like to add games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays if the new fields are built, and says the proposed fields would be open to players from throughout Saint Paul, not just the West Seventh area.
A Crowded Civic Hub With Competing Uses
The West Seventh Community Center fields are not empty space waiting to be claimed. They're currently shared by men's slow-pitch softball teams, a youth football league and informal neighborhood recreation, and representatives of an ultimate frisbee league that used the fields in recent years have said they want to return. The 265 Oneida Street site is owned by the City of Saint Paul, though daily operations and community programming there are managed under contract by the non-profit Keystone Community Services, which also runs food shelves and senior programs across the city. The building also houses a branch of the Saint Paul Public Library system, adding another layer of daily foot traffic to the site.
That density of competing uses is exactly why neighbors raised concerns about traffic safety, parking and green space at the meeting, which was organized by the West 7th/Fort Road Federation. The district council has not taken a position on Highland Ball's proposal and says it wants to hear from more regular local residents and business people before any decisions move forward.
City Leaders Urge a Slower Process
Saint Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker, who represents Ward 2 and the West Seventh neighborhood, called Highland Ball's offer generous but said the proposal should not be rushed before neighborhood impacts are addressed. Noecker was first elected to the council in 2015 and was chosen by her colleagues to lead the council in February 2025.
Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez offered qualified support for the plan but was careful to temper expectations. He said the proposal is far from being a done deal, and that nothing will happen this fall, with work possibly beginning next year at the earliest. Rodriguez has led the parks department since Mayor Melvin Carter appointed him in May 2022, following more than 17 years working within the city's park system.
Under the plan, Saint Paul would continue to own and operate the new fields even though Highland Ball is footing the $300,000 construction bill. The nonprofit's finances give it real capacity for that kind of investment: IRS Form 990 tax records show the Highland Park Little League Association, which operates Highland Ball, reported $583,344 in total revenue and $461,771 in total expenses for the fiscal year ending December 2024, according to Cause IQ.
Beyond the Diamond: Walkways, Wiring and Future Plans
Beyond fencing and seating, Highland Ball plans to add walkways and electrical infrastructure that could eventually support lighting, scoreboards and a concessions stand. Permanent restrooms are also a future possibility, according to Uran. None of those additions are guaranteed yet, since the whole proposal remains in an early stage of municipal review.
The push for dedicated softball fields comes as Highland Ball has taken on a bigger administrative role citywide. Starting this year, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation partnered with the Minnesota Twins Nike RBI program to consolidate all of the city's girls' fastpitch softball team administration under Highland Ball, while keeping registration free for eligible municipal participants. The Twins Nike RBI program supplies free equipment, clinics, uniforms and league play for youth in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, part of a broader Major League Baseball effort to widen youth sports access in urban communities. Saint Paul's youth athletic programs carry no residency requirement, meaning players up to age 18 from outside the city can join teams, though city residents get priority registration and non-residents pay an added fee.
This isn't the only recent example of Saint Paul investing in youth ballfields. The city and Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield unveiled planned upgrades last July at Toni Stone Stadium, named for the Saint Paul native who became the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro American League. For now, the West Seventh proposal remains a starting point for discussion rather than a finished plan, with city officials signaling that any groundbreaking is still at least a year away.
