Parents worried about softball fields closing in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- The city of Las Cruces announced that a handful of sports fields will be closed until further notice due to a light pole falling down on the field last week.

The fields won't be reopening for regular use until every light on the fields is removed and replaced out of an abundance of caution. But the closures has caused concern with parents and coaches in the Las Cruces softball community.

"I look there, there's probably 20 on this complex and it goes from this complex to the all the other complexes are closed as well. The last time we had a pole fall down, it took over a year for them to replace 1 or 2 poles. So we're kind of worried about our upcoming summer session of softball," said Jacob Paz, a local coach.

Paz said he learned about the closing this morning, and had to have tournaments and practices canceled. The only way they can practice is by paying for time in an indoor facility.

"These are the only softball fields that are available for us to come have league and tournaments. It's a big impact on and on the softball community, but also on the community itself, because with that, a lot of hotels are booked, restaurants are booked."

The city said that they are working with vendors to determine the cost and the timeline to replace all the poles. Paz said the closure will hurt the softball community.

"I know that the the city, they had light poles fall before, and I think they should have probably tried to get them done back then."