
Phil Johnson Ballfields: A Promising Venue with Room for Improvement (4 out of 5 stars)
We recently visited Phil Johnson Ballfields in Everett, WA for our son's baseball tournament. The venue has a lot of potential, offering several well-maintained fields and a spacious layout. However, a few logistical shortcomings kept it from achieving a perfect score.
Pros:
Top-Notch Fields: The condition of the ballfields themselves is excellent. The well-maintained turf provides a safe and consistent playing surface, allowing young athletes to showcase their skills on a quality field. The spacious outfields offer ample room for impressive plays and development. Ample Parking (with a caveat): The large parking lot at Phil Johnson Ballfields is a significant advantage, especially for tournaments that attract a crowd. However, arriving early is crucial. Parking fills up quickly, particularly during peak hours or for larger tournaments. Cons:
Unsecured Bases: Similar to our previous visit, the bases were a major concern. Not being securely anchored into the turf, they'd move or dislodge whenever a player slid in. This poses a safety hazard and needs to be addressed by firmly anchoring the bases to prevent potential injuries. Limited Warm-Up Space: A significant drawback we encountered was the lack of dedicated space for teams to warm up while their assigned field was still occupied by another game. This resulted in congestion and limited opportunities for teams to properly prepare between matches. Tournaments often have tight schedules, and having designated warm-up areas would greatly improve the overall flow and efficiency of the event. Closed Concession Stands (Again): Disappointingly, the concession stands were closed during our visit over the weekend. The lack of readily available food and drink options was inconvenient, especially for families attending the tournament for extended periods. Overall Impression:
Phil Johnson Ballfields has the potential to be a fantastic venue for youth baseball tournaments. The well-maintained fields, ample parking (with early arrival being key), and clean restrooms provide a good foundation. However, the unsecured bases pose a safety concern, and the lack of dedicated warm-up areas creates logistical hurdles for teams during tournaments. Having operational concession stands would also significantly enhance the overall experience for visitors. By addressing these shortcomings, Phil Johnson Ballfields could become a truly exceptional location for youth...
Read moreThe facility itself is top notch. Nice artificial turf fields, enough bleachers at each field, practice areas, nice dugouts and facilities for everything else it takes to have a successful softball, baseball or soccer game. Parking can be pretty bad though, the reason I knocked off 1 star. When they hold tournaments there or all four fields are being used it once the parking is really bad and you have to park on a very busy street that has terrible speed limit control. The police really need to be down there more often to make sure...
Read moreVery nice fields with netting over the seats for the pop-ups. Each field has metal bleachers for seating - though home side don't have a top row back. Bathrooms are clean with soap buy only 1 blow dryer and it's in-between the 2 sinks...so it's weird. Parking can get full quickly and the playground is a bit far from so you cant take the Littles and watch the games if you're on the back fields (3&4 I think). But they're great tuff fields and we love...
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