Phoenix City Council votes to cancel tournaments, close basketball courts (more details)
The Phoenix City Council met Dec. 2 to decide whether to continue allowing tournament play and other uses of city athletic fields and parks, or to close them through the winter months in the face of a brutal surge of coronavirus.
The council debated at length Wednesday afternoon and heard public comment before ultimately voting 7–2 to pass a motion introduced by Vice Mayor Betty Guardado. Passage of the motion cancels all tournament play and organized sports activities, and restricts certain areas of city fields and recreation centers deemed high-risk. Lower-risk amenities will remain available.
Council members Sal DiCiccio and Jim Waring were the only “no” votes to the motion.
Health Professionals Sound Alarm at Phoenix City Council Meeting
City health consultant Dr. Saskia Popescu was on hand to answer council questions from a public health standpoint before the vote. Dr. Popescu was clear that the coronavirus is surging in Arizona and strongly recommended against high-risk activities such as tournaments that draw large numbers of out-of-state teams and spectators.
On a phone call Tuesday afternoon, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego’s spokeswoman, Jeanine L’Ecuyer, expressed her personal feelings that it was “a mistake” for Phoenix Parks and Recreation to approve the application for one such event that made national headlines: the recent Desert Super Cup. L’Ecuyer was emphatic that the mayor “had no role” in approving the field reservations.
The soccer tournament was held Nov. 27–29, and drew 500 teams to the Phoenix area. Roughly 460 of the teams that competed in the Desert Super Cup were from out of state and traveled to attend their games. (How this event managed to be approved at all has been a matter of contention among several city officials. I also interviewed two parents who attended to get their perspectives, which you can find here.)
Dr. Popescu was patient as she explained the same concept over and over: close-contact with people from outside your household is still wildly unsafe — yes, even outdoors. No, big groups coming in from out of town during a pandemic isn’t the greatest idea. Using playground equipment or playing a game of catch with a friend (masks on) are examples of fairly low-risk activities, so we can probably keep doing those things.
Dr. Popescu said better communication with the public about complex ideas like the nuance of risk levels, and even basics like the importance of masks, is crucial. She pointed out several times that it’s perfectly safe for athletes to wear masks during game play and encouraged this practice if sports are to continue even on a small scale.
Closing down basketball courts, bbq pits and ramadas would also be a good idea, she said. Some good news for park users: “There’s no reason bathrooms should be closed as long as people know they should be wearing a mask.”
Public Comment
“I am the chief clinical officer for Banner Health. I am a physician,” stated one of the first callers. “The surge of Covid is absolutely upon us… and getting worse every day. We support Option B [canceling field allocations for tournaments in the City of Phoenix]. To get through this second surge, we need everybody’s help. Community endurance is needed for this last push.”
“We shouldn’t be drastic or hasty,” a self-identified soccer mom said during her time. She cited youth emotional health and the sanctity of family time as her primary reasons for asking the city to allow parks and fields to remain open for full competition play, even as 10,322 new coronavirus cases were reported in Arizona on Dec. 1.
A baseball coach and father of two also called in, echoing these feelings.
“Our kids need to be normal,” another member of the public said. “All of you Latinos [on the council] know how important this is, it’s part of the children’s lives.”
The very next caller, a mom who used the Spanish translation service to comment, expressed the exact opposite sentiment: a desire for things to close down because the virus is surging. She said both of her daughters work in healthcare and they haven’t been able to hug her in months.
Phoenix Vice Mayor ‘Proud’ of Decision to Cancel Organized Sports
“I feel for all of our essential workers… I’m talking about all the workers who cannot do their jobs through Zoom,” said Vice Mayor Guardado, speaking about the toll the virus is taking on low-income workers. “There is a lot of leadership we could receive from the state that we just don’t have right now, that has a lot to do with the confusion.”
The vice mayor summed up her position and defended her motion, “If we can avoid a group of people form catching Covid, I think we have to do it. I’m very proud of the decision we’re making today.”
Councilman DiCiccio was not impressed: “We have no real plan protecting the entire general public. Not one. The public needs to know that.” He ended by voting against the motion.
DiCiccio was joined in his vote by Councilman Waring a moment later. The vice mayor’s motion passed successfully, 7–2, effectively canceling all tournaments that were scheduled. Teams that had field allocations or reservations with Phoenix Parks and Rec between now and February will have their deposits refunded.
