The mouse that roared: Volleyball in Powderhorn Park

A meeting was held at Powderhorn Park on Tuesday, May 20. The subject was “what to do about” a dispute between local residents, mostly in the 3200 block of 14th Avenue South, and a group of Ecuadorian volleyball players. Park Board and Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association staff members were there to mediate.

At issue is the continued use of six packed-earth volleyball courts in the northeast corner of the park. The courts were built to accommodate Latino players who prefer a hard—rather than a sand—surface. “We created the only Latino volleyball court in Minneapolis, and the numbers just kept growing,” said Neighborhood Association director David Rubidor in a phone interview. “We are the victims of our own success.”

By early May, there were as many as 200 players present, seven nights a week. With barely enough parking spaces on the street for neighbors and their visitors, double-parking became a problem, particularly on 14th Avenue. The people who were waiting, and their families and friends, partied. Ambitious entrepreneurs began selling food and beverages, a practice which Park Board officials say is illegal. Garbage became an issue, one which the players appeared to be resolving when, a week before the meeting, the Park Board pulled the permit, and the games ceased to be. Michele Hutchins, who lives across the street from the courts, told this reporter that with the volleyballers gone, there has been an increase in gang activity. She would like to see a deal worked out that would allow the games to continue, but for only four evenings a week. “We just need a break from the constant intrusion,” she said.

Commissioner Annie Young, when contacted by this reporter, commented that with a projected shortfall of $11 million dollars in the upcoming budget, it will not be possible for the Park Board to construct other facilities to take some of the pressure off Powderhorn.

About 30 people attended the meeting. Ten were from the Ecuadorian community, fifteen from the neighborhood, and the rest were Park Board and PPNA staff. The neighborhood people made several demands, and the volleyballers acceded to all of them. “What choice do we have?” said one of the Ecuadorians. “If we do not do as you say, you will not allow us to play.”

The cultural gap between the two sides remained unbridged as the meeting broke up. The residents—a mixture of ethnic, economic and philosophical groups—got the Latinos to limit their playing to Wednesday through Saturday, in spite of pleas from the players that for many of their people, who work six days a week, Sunday is the only day they have.

When one of the players defended collecting a small fee from the players for use of the nets and the balls (the balls are not made here, and must be purchased in Ecuador), he was hooted down. The man who collects the fee claims he is merely trying to recover his investment. The neighbors, park staff and PPNA say that at $1 per head, with over 100 players a night, this is a business, and that since more players means more money, the organizers have no incentive to hold the numbers down.

Residents insisted that soda pop, and other refreshments, be distributed without payment. “No selling” was a refrain backed by the Park Board people present: it is against Park Board rules to sell food in the parks. As the players see it, it makes sense for someone to make sure there are refreshments available, and if that person needs to be reimbursed for their trouble and their cash outlay, what is wrong with that? Nobody is getting rich here, the players say, it’s more a community service than a business.

“No noise” was another demand. Radios must not be “too loud,” and people must not honk their horn to get someone’s attention. The players asked the community to assist them in convincing the “violators” to stop. As one Ecuadorian put it, “they are young, and they don’t always obey their elders.” In the past, neighbors who have approached horn honkers have been ignored or sneered at. In response, park recreation director Al Bengor promised frequent patrols by park staff.

Aside from giving the neighbors three days off, little has changed. The dust from the courts will still blow across 14th Avenue into the homes across the street (there is talk of putting a “treatment” on the courts to prevent this, but neither a date nor a decision on who will pay has been decided); the ice cream trucks will still congregate where the people—especially the children—are, with their competing and dissonant music blaring; there will still be parking problems after the 5:00 p.m. starting time; and the natural jubilation and enthusiasm which the large crowds manifest at their favorite sport will still annoy the nice-and-quiet Minnesota neighbors.

I left the meeting feeling that this “deal” was doomed to failure. The loudest and most adamant voices in the community really want the whole business to go away—the “vast majority” of neighbors said to favor a compromise which would preserve the courts didn’t show up—and I overheard one of the players telling the others that this was just another case of racism. Both sides see themselves as victims.

Personally, I think that Solomon couldn’t resolve this one. The volleyball courts got constructed in the wrong place. They are too close to residences, in an area with inadequate parking. There is neither money nor resolve for a change of venue.