Big Vision Sports Complex - Lessport, PA

Big Vision Sports Complex was a last minute tournament we entered.  Leesport is about an hour from my house so it was an easy drive.  Yes, as softball moms/dads, an hour drive is nothing.  When we start hitting 7, 8 hour drive time, that is now consider a difficult drive.

Okay.  So Big Vision, here's their main picture...

These are really nice fields.  See in the middle there?  A really nice snack bar with actual bathrooms and....oh, wait.  We didn't play on those fields.  We were... 

There are four other fields on that side of the road.  I'll get into all that in a bit.  

1) Playground - Non-existent.  My boys were definitely bored and they were only there for one game.  There are some concrete wall barriers they can climb on or throw a ball at, but that's the extent of it.  Definitely bring some toys.  

2) Parking - $5.00 fee per day.  There is a decent amount of parking at both sides of the street.  The fields where we were playing, the lot did fill up pretty quick.  There's someone sitting in the booth to take your money.  They put up a sign if the lot is full, which is good.  If you need to see the fields from the car, you better get there early.  And this is just for the side of the road we were on.  I didn't have to park on the big side, so I'm not sure how the parking there is, sorry.  

3) Bathrooms/Porta Potties - Yes to both!  There are nice bathrooms at the clover fields.  They are in the middle of the clovers, right behind the concession stand.  There are also porta potties at the other side of the road.  There's one for two fields, so 2 total on that side.  Good thing is, the walk to the bathrooms is easy, just walk across the street.  

4) Hotels - As stated, it's pretty close to my house so no need for a hotel.  That helps me but doesn't help you...if anyone actually is reading this 😂 So I looked up hotels in Leesport and Reading came up, which is about 20 miles from Leesport.  I must be wrong.  There's got to be something close.  I looked on Big Vision's website and they have 3 hotels they are partnered with, all in Reading.  If you need to stay in a hotel, plan on a 18-20 mile drive.  

5) Area Attractions - In Leesport, maybe cow tipping...haha, just kidding

There's a lot of farm land in Leesport.  But there is plenty to do in Reading and the surrounding area.  If you're staying in Reading, why not catch a Reading Phils game?!  The games are always fun and interactive.  There's Cyrstal Cave, which is close to Leesport.  You'll just have to Google it.  

6) Concession Stand - There are two different concession stands.  The clover fields has the nicer concession stand with a lot of options.  They had Chick-fil-a sandwiches, not on Sunday, though.  They also had Subway sandwiches!  I did not really look at the prices because I brought food with me.  The other side of the road had a small concession stand.  They sold hot dogs, hamburgers, candy, drinks, the norm.  The price seemed reasonable.  

7) Coolers and Grills - Coolers were allowed.  OH YEAH! They even sold 5 lbs of ice at the concession stand.  I'm not sure that's standard or just because of how hot it was that weekend.  Grills, I'm going to have to say no.  I didn't see any and there really wasn't any place to set up the grill.

8) Shade - The clover fields have no shade.  The other side, the one field has shade on the first base side but it's on a hill.  Pros and cons I guess.  The other fields, bring shade because that sun is hot!  There was no shade for the girls on the bench.  

9) Fields -  Speaking only of the non-clover fields for this post.  They do have the fields named, which makes it easy to find.  The website has pictures for some of them.  They seemed to be in good condition.  The field with the shade, it is easy to hit a home run.  The fence is short and shaped weird.  The other field has a concrete wall barrier, short in height, just like in the parking lot.  If I remember correctly, there is a slight slope close to the barrier.  Just make sure the outfielders don't trip over them going for a ball.  The other two fields we did not play on because one was for baseball, the other one the older girls were playing, but they seemed to be in decent shape.  There were no lights on the fields.  

10) Warm-up - There's only a few spots to warm-up and they aren't very big.  The one spot did have a decent spot for warming up the pitchers.  

11) Time - I don't remember any time issues so they probably were running good on time.  

Overall it was a good experience.  I wouldn't mind going back for another tournament.  I'll just make sure I have a babysitter for that weekend.  

Westampton Sports Complex - Westampton, New Jersey

We were at the Westampton Sports Complex for the USA Elite Select qualifier tournament.

This facility was decent.  The area where it says open field space, is not open field space.  It's a football field.  There's also soccer fields there, too.

1) Playground -- There is a nice playground behind field #2.  You can watch the game on field #2.  There's no risk of foul balls coming near the playground, which is a big plus!

2) Parking -- If there are soccer games and football games, parking is a little crazy.  I ended up parking on the grass close to the entrance on Bridge Street.  Good idea to bring your cart to lug all of your stuff.

3) Bathrooms -- No porta potties, actual bathrooms!! For the women, there was 3 stalls plus a handicapped stall.  They were very clean.  Two sinks, soap, one air hand dryer.  They are located right at the snack bar.  They were heated, which was awesome for the cold night we had.

4) Hotels -- We decided, last minute, to stay the night at a Super 8, which was about 7 miles away from the fields.  I didn't do a ratings check, unfortunately.  It smelled like cigarettes.  The rooms weren't too bad but the curtains were stained, which skeeved me out.  I could hear every time someone left their room, which was all throughout the night.  I've never been to a Super 8 before but I will probably skip it next time it's an option.  There are a lot of other hotels in the area.  Make sure you read the rating! 😂

5) Area Attractions -- Our games started at 3:00 p.m. with the last one ending around 8:30 p.m, and return to field time was 8:15 a.m.  We didn't have time to go around and find things to do.

6) Concession Stand -- The concession stand is right at the parking lot.  The image above is correct.  The playground is close behind the concession stand.  They had all kinds of cold drinks, which were all $1.50.  They had coffee and hot chocolate.  I didn't see any healthy options like salad, but they did have an wide range of selections.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese, walking tacos, pizza, chicken nuggets, and other things.  They did run out of a few things by Sunday afternoon.  They had water ice, ice cream, candy, chips, and soft pretzels.  I'm sure there's more but that's all I can remember now.

7) Coolers and Grills -- I didn't see a rules sign when I walked in.  I'm not really sure about the grills but no one had one at the field.  Coolers were definitely allowed.  There was actually a lot of dogs there, too.

8) Shade - No shade anywhere.  Being your canopy or sports umbrella. There are roofs over the benches for the players so you do not need extra canopies.

9) Fields -- As you can see, the fields are clover fields, lights on all fields.  They are close together, which is great for switching fields, but not so great for the foul balls.  There were foul balls EVERYWHERE! As I first got there, looking for my daughter warming up, I'm walking past field #1 and I hear the heart-stopping, "Heads up!"  I stop in my tracks and a ball flies RIGHT by my face.  It was insane.

That's not me but I guarantee it will be one day

Foul balls would fly from one field to the next.  They were constantly having to stop games for foul balls coming onto the fields.  Fields #1,2,3 have plenty of room in the outfield to watch the games, away from the foul balls.  Field #4 you cannot go behind the fence.  There are bleachers at every field on both sides and room next to them to sit with your chairs. 

The infields were in good shape.  They did reline the fields after every game. 

10) Warm-up area -- There was plenty of places for the girls to go and warm-up without being in the way.  The open field space is not open field space, as stated above.  It's a football field.  There's spots behind the fields, next to the fields, and between the playground and concession stand is a big place to warm-up.

11) Time -- Everything seemed to run on time.  I think Sunday got a little later than it was supposed to, but playing back to back games, the girls were okay with the little break to eat.

Overall it was a good experience, minus the foul balls, but easily avoided being in the outfield.  Can you tell I'm terrified of foul balls?!  I'm a magnet for them.