From Our Community

The field conditions can be atrocious and as a parent I am always concerned about a bad bounce to the face or a broken ankle or torn ACL from an errant step into a gopher hole. Most importantly Crocker serves as the home field for the BaySox. I can’t overstate how important the BaySox program is to my daughter. The friendships she is forming, the fundamental baseball skills she is learning, and the life skills she is developing are essential in her growth as a person. 

– Larry Golob and Jen Paluch, BaySox parents

Even though the fields are worn down—sometimes to the point that parents bring their own shovels to fill holes—the potential here is huge. Improving and restoring the diamonds and fields would give even more kids, especially young girls, the chance to discover something they love and build confidence in themselves. The proposed upgrades wouldn’t just fix fields; they would help create a place where kids can grow, families feel safe, and new dreams can begin. 

 – Clarissa Ignacio, Excelsior Resident

As a family who frequents Crocker Amazon Park in many capacities, from dog walking, bike riding, basketball practice, and soccer and baseball games, we have a very vested interest in the park upgrades proposed by the Giants…. As an active resident of our district, it’s hard to not feel that our neighborhood is underserved and neglected. This project offers so many opportunities for community use from the enclosed dog park to food truck parking for community events, upgraded bathrooms, and safe bike and walking pathways. All of these components will be a real win for the community which is currently lacking safe and functional public use spaces. Our district is well overdue for an improvement project like this, and it will provide so many opportunities for our district and ultimately all residents of San Francisco.” 

– Current Excelsior Resident 

The associated improvements to Crocker Amazon Park to support a new baseball complex would provide some social justice for the long-suffering neighborhoods of the Crocker-Amazon, the Excelsior, Portola, and Visitacion Valley. Such improvements include new walkways, better lighting, picnic tables, a multi-use plaza, exercise stations, new restrooms, expanded parking lot with improved pedestrian/handicapped access, as well as, fenced and lighted off-leash dog parks. My property adjoins Crocker Amazon Playground and I have lived there over 20 years. Further, I have lived in the Excelsior District for over 40 years. Renovation is long overdue. I support the SF Giants, its Community Fund, and SF Rec and Park in this project.

– Current Excelsior Resident 

From Our Partners

The primary goal of this project is to greatly improve the baseball and softball fields at Crocker Amazon Park.  These fields should be durable, safe and consistently playable. Synthetic turf provides significant advantages over natural grass in fulfilling these objectives. A single field using synthetic turf can add approximately 800 additional playing hours over a natural grass field.  Across larger complexes, turf conversions can typically add between 5,000 to 10,000 hours of additional community playtime each year.

Beyond increased field availability, synthetic turf delivers substantial environmental and operational benefits. It eliminates the need for irrigation, reducing water consumption by millions of gallons annually. Synthetic turf also requires no fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides, helping minimize chemical runoff into local storm drainage systems. Maintenance costs are significantly lower than those of natural grass fields. Synthetic turf does not require mowing, reseeding, re-sodding, or ongoing irrigation repairs. 

The Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) enhances these benefits by incorporating advanced drainage systems for synthetic turf fields so that stormwater does not enter the groundwater. They also implement best practices for stormwater management when required to help mitigate overtaxed downstream storm drainage infrastructure.  Finally, RPD requires that synthetic turf is recycled when replaced so that the turf does not end up in a landfill. 

– Dan Mauer, Project Manager, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department

Northern California has been at the forefront of understanding and pushing improvements in synthetic turf performance and its environmental footprint. Today’s synthetic turf systems utilized in San Francisco Parks are some of the most advanced systems available anywhere in the world.

Modern synthetic turf products have evolved substantially from earlier generations. Current systems use temperature moderating natural infill materials, shock attenuating and drainage enhancing pads. These materials enhance safety and playing comfort and reduce the amount of synthetic turf volume in the system. These systems are engineered to meet or exceed local, state and national safety standards for traction, impact attenuation and surface consistency. 

Natural grass systems perform well in controlled environments where use limitations are enforced.  Natural grass fields can become uneven and muddy thus leading to more player injuries. Synthetic turf, by contrast, provides a consistently even, stable surface that does not deteriorate under heavy play.  Natural grass fields typically require rest, recovery time and closures during wet conditions or after extensive use. Synthetic turf fields can support year-round play for far more hours per week without compromising safety or surface quality. This means more teams, youth programs and community members can count on the field being safe and available throughout the year. 

– Mark Baginski, Principal, Verde Design, Inc.

The San Francisco Recreation & Park Department (SFRPD) has been a leader in the environmental evaluation of synthetic turf materials for over fifteen years, reflecting the Department’s commitment to public health and environmental stewardship. Before any synthetic turf product is accepted for use in Rec and Park’s projects, it must undergo rigorous testing by independent, certified laboratories to assess potential impacts to human health and the environment.

The evaluation includes laboratory analysis for heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to ensure materials meet health-protective standards and do not present health concerns for park users or underlying groundwater resources. These testing protocols are regularly updated to reflect evolving regulations and advances in analytical methods.

– David Teter, PHD, Civil Engineer, Trinity Source Group, Inc.