For Derick Payne, Heroes Park on Old Military Road feels more like a forgotten park. The youth coach says the fields aren't safe for young athletes to play or practice on.
"If you bring your kid out to train, you wouldn't want him come back home with broken ankles and fractures and things of that nature. The field is just in a bad condition. There are holes everywhere and different things out there, and it's just hazardous to the kids," said Payne.
Payne says he helps train high school football players, and he currently runs strength training classes at Sage Park. Payne says he would love to train more kids at the Theodore park where he grew up playing.
"Nothing would bring me more joy than to have this park alive and well again, where our community is back out again, like we used to do in the old days," said Payne.
At this week's city council meeting, Payne asked city leaders for help. Council members each receive $3 million they can spend in their districts for things like park, road and drainage improvements. The park is in Councilman Ben Reynolds district. Reynolds says he'd like to help, but there are a lot of needs in his district and he’s been more focused on infrastructure. He also noted there's the nearby Theodore Athletic Association, a nonprofit community park with ballfields.
"If there are some small, incremental improvements that we can start on the park, while not interrupting the major redoing streets and drainage over there, I'm all ears. I'm in full support of you and what you're trying to do," said Reynolds.
Payne says he's thankful the city recently fixed the bathrooms, and he's hopeful others will join his effort so the park can be better utilized.
"We have a lot of good people here in this neighborhood. We can get it done," said Payne.
The city says it hasn't had a request from a baseball organization to play at the Heroes park for years. According to the city, there are more than 100 green spaces in Mobile, and 72 of them are parks.