SPRINGETTSBURY TWP., Pa - Hundreds of Little Leaguers may need to find a new place to play ball after the York Little League was notified its landlord will be terminating its lease at the end of September.
Shipley Field has hosted York Little League since its inception in 1961. Now, the non-profit is hoping the public can somehow save it.
"I don't think anything can replace this field and all the memories that have been on it," Brayden Howard, a Little Leaguer, said. "They told us in a practice and everyone was just like quiet, and like ten seconds later, I was just feeling down, like my heart sunk, because I've been here for four years and it was really fun here."
Attorneys for Aesys Technologies, LLC told York Little League they have until September 30 to play ball here, which falls right in the middle of the season.
"We're really hoping that someone can come through for us," York Little League president Steve Bartkowski said. "That's my primary goal: to get this land back, but we don't have any other leads yet as far as another property."
The land where Shipley Field and another smaller field was owned by Shipley Oil, who leased the land to York Little League for one dollar a year.
Aesys acquired the land in 2003 and continued the lease terms, but the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. A for sale sign in front of the property has been up for several months. The bankruptcy would presumably complicate a donation scenario, Bartkowski said.
"We hate to see them lose it, and we want to try and work with them, help them find a new home or find a solution to the problem," Blanda Nace, with the Springettsbury Township Board of Supervisors, said.
York Little League is trying to work with Aesys to at least finish the season at Shipley Field. If that fails, the township will continue to host games at their parks.
The players are hoping the field can be left for future generations.
"I'd like them to have this field just as I did, so I really hope they can keep this," Little Leaguer Ian Korn said.