Agoura Hills Ballfields Reopening Tuesday

AGOURA HILLS, CA — LA County is expected to enter the Red Tier Wednesday, meaning that Agoura Hills theaters, gyms, and indoor dining can resume at limited capacity. In another piece of good news, the Agoura Hills Department of Community Services announced that it is reopening its ballfields for team practice. Chumash, Forest Cove, and Old Agoura parks will be open to practice as long as teams get approved for a permit and follow public health guidelines.

Certain outdoor sports like archery, badminton, golf, and singles tennis have been allowed since late February, but baseball, kickball, softball, volleyball, and doubles tennis are not allowed until the Red Tier. Football, basketball, and soccer are not allowed until the Orange Tier, when the adjusted case rate reaches 1-3.9 cases per 100,000, or 2-5.9 cases if 4 million or more vaccines have been administered statewide to the hardest-hit communities.

“The Youth Sports Guidelines from LA County had come out even in the Purple Tier, which allowed some forms of conditioning and training for youth sports...but once we realized the case numbers were dropping and the move to the Red Tier was imminent, we started the process of getting the fields open,” said Community Services Assistant Director Zach Miller, who said the decision was made early last week. Now, baseball teams will be able to practice on the fields as long as they obtain a permit for each practice session, wear masks, including during the game, stay six feet apart, and wash their hands regularly. Teams are also encouraged to test players regularly.

Miller said that staff have made sure the fields are playable through turf renovations and reseeding, like it does every year after winter, and taking down fencing to protect the grass.

The city shut down its fields in July after some residents began complaining to the city that unauthorized groups were playing on the fields without masks. While the parks weren’t physically closed down, Miller said that a few groups were asked to leave.

The on-site playgrounds were also briefly shut down and closed off with tape, but were reopened later in the fall. Restrooms reopened a few weeks ago.

Any team that wishes to apply for a permit should contact the Community Services Department at 818-597-7361.