Softball Otago development manager Jill Johnson said yesterday her organisation would struggle to find another ground to accommodate the sport.
The issue arose at a meeting on Monday to discuss the future of Carisbrook, when the Dunedin City Council began consultation on what to do with the ground and surrounding properties it bought last year for $7 million.
Dunedin resource management consultant Don Anderson suggested Carisbrook be retained as the home for sports fields, and Bathgate Park developed for affordable housing.
But Southern Rugby Football Club premier team manager Mike Reggett, whose club is based at Bathgate Park said on Tuesday he opposed the idea, in part because Carisbrook had room for just one rugby pitch, while Bathgate Park had room for six.
Mrs Johnson said the ground had room for 18 softball diamonds for the 1200 children who played there, and the parents who watched.
Softball Otago had worked with the council to develop Ellis Park, in Glenross, but that only had room for softball teams forits older age-group players,Mrs Johnson said.
An option for Softball Otago to use Tahuna Park did not go ahead because of the expansion of the Tahuna sewage treatment plant.
In another response yesterday, Maxwell Cameron, a John McGlashan College pupil, said the terrace and Railway stand should be demolished for additional sports fields, and secondary schools should have the opportunity to play regular sports fixtures on the historic ground.
